THE PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



TEXT-BOOK SERIES 
Edited by PAUL MONROE, Ph.D. 



TEXT-BOOK IN THE PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION. 

By Ernest N. Henderson, Ph.D., Professor of Education and 
Philosophy, Adelphi College. 

PRINCIPLES OF SECONDARY EDUCATION. 

By Paul Monroe, Ph.D., Professor of History of Education, 
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TEXT-BOOK IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION. 

By Paul Monroe, Ph.D. 
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THE Greek and Roman Period. 

By Paul Monroe, Ph.D. 

STATE AND COUNTY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION. 

Vol. I. Text-book of Principles. In Preparation. 

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By Ellwood P. Cubberlet, Ph.D., Professor of Education, 

Leland Stanford Junior University, and Edward C. Elliott, 

Ph.D., Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin. 

STATE AND COUNTY EDUCATIONAL REORGANIZATION. 

By Ellwood P. Cubberley, Ph.D. 
A HISTORY OF THE FAMILY AS A SOCIAL AND 
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION. 
By Willtstine Goodsell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of 
Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. 

DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION. An Introduction to the 
Philosophy of Education. 

By John Dewey, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, Columbia 
University. 

THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENCE TEACHING. 

By George R. Twiss, B. Sc, Professor of the Principles and 
Practice of Education, Ohio State University. 

THE PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

By Thomas Alexander, Ph.D., Professor of Elementary Edu- 
cation, George Peabody College for Teachers. 

A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 
By Paul Monroe, Ph.D. In Preparation. 



THE PRUSSIAN 

4 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



BY 



THOMAS ALEXANDER, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 
GEORGE PEABODY COLLEGE FOR TEACHERS 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1918 



All rights reserved 



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Copyright, 19x8, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published January, 1918. 



JAN -5 1918 



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Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



©CIA481317 



PREFACE 

The foiiuvting study of the Prussian elementary schools was 
made during the year and a half preceding the outbreak of the 
Great War. In setting forth the facts there has been little at- 
tempt to draw any conclusions. We beheve, however, that a 
careful study of the Prussian school system will convince any 
unbiased reader that the Prussian citizen cannot be free to do 
and act for himself; that the Prussian is to a large measure 
enslaved through the medium of his school ; that his learning, 
instead of making him his own master, forges the chain by which 
he is held in servitude ; that the whole scheme of Prussian elemen- 
tary education is shaped wdth the express purpose of making 
ninety-five out of every hundred citizens subservient to the 
ruling house and to the state. 

The elementary schools of Prussia have been fashioned so as 
to make spiritual and intellectual slaves of the lower classes. 
The schools have been used almost exclusively to establish more 
firmly the Hohenzollern upon his throne. The present Emperor 
wrote in 1889 : "We have thought for a long time of making use 
of the schools in combating the spread of sociaHstic and com- 
munistic ideas. . . . The schools must create in the youth the 
conviction that the doctrines of socialism are contrary not only 
to God's decrees and Christian moral teaching, but in reality 
incapable of application and destructive both to the indi\ddual 
and the state. The schools . . . must impress on the youth how 
Prussian kings have continually taken pains to better the condi- 
tions of the working class from the time of the legal reforms of 
Frederick the Great down until to-day." ^ 

1 See page 398 ff . ; also page 30 £f. 



vi PREFACE 

The Prussian elementary school is the best in the world from 
the point of view of the upper classes of Germany. From the 
point of view of the lower classes it is the worst system, for it 
takes from them all hope of improving their condition in life. 
The Prussian method of education has produced a people that 
moves as one man at the command of its king. The result 
is exactly the same as if one would take an infant and teach him 
only one word to be used in response to all situations — in Ger- 
many this word is "Fatherland." 

There are many excellent features of the Prussian school 
system ; there are many things which we would do well to study 
carefully. The Prussian king's conception of education for the 
lower classes, however, is directly opposed to everything 
American. 

We wish to acknowledge our indebtedness in the preparation 
of this study to the following workers in the field of education : 
Dean James E. Russell, Teachers College ; Dr. Frederick E. 
Farrington, Headmaster, Chevy Chase School, Washington, 
D.C., and formerly Professor of Comparative Education, 
Teachers College ; Dr. Paul Monroe, Teachers College ; Mr. John 
C. Mills, Kirksville, Mo. ; Mr. Bolton Smith, Memphis, Ten- 
nessee; Miss Lula 0. Andrews, Professor of English, George 
Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tennessee ; and to a 
great number of German teachers who gave much of their time 
and energy. 

The Author. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

I, Development of the Prussian Volksschule 



PAGE 

I 



Administration of the Prussian Schools 
General Relationship of School Systems . 
Statistics of the Prussian Elementary Schools 

School Attendance 

School Management 

School Hygiene 

8. Extracurricular and Benevolent Activities 

9. Preparation of the Elementary School Teacher 

10. Teachers' Salaries 

11. Teachers' Pensions 

12. Organization of the Volksschulen and Courses of Study 

13. Methods of Instruction and Organization of Subject 

Matter 

General Methods in German Elementary Schools 

Religion 286 

German— Reading 304 

Arithmetic — Geometry 349 

History 392 

19. Geography 429 

20. Biology 452 

21. Physics and Chemistry . 475 

22. Sewing 488 

23. Cooking 496 

24. Singing 506 

vii 



14 
15 
16 

18 



54 

79 

91 
104 

116 
126 
139 
159 
187 
213 
220 

257 
271 



viii CONTENTS 

25. Drawing -j. 

26. Manual Training ••....... 524 

27. Physical Training ^20 

28. Conclusion ^^,7 

Appendix — Bibliography et-^ 



THE PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

CHAPTER I 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 

During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there were a 
number of church schools in Germany, which were calculated to 
meet the needs of the upper classes of society and the Middle 
needs of the church. At a somewhat later time, in the ^^^^ 
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there grew up in the cities of 
Germany a large number of Latin schools and German schools, 
schools in which German was used, known as Schreibschulen, 
Rechenschulen, or Winkelschulen. These schools of the latter 
type were called into existence by a need felt by the rich citizens 
of the larger medieval cities for the instruction of their children 
along somewhat more practical lines than the mere study of 
Latin. The writing-schools and arithmetic-schools were the 
beginnings of the later citizen-schools (Biirgerschulen) and we 
can see therein the origin of the Volksschule of to-day. But in 
the lands of the Brandenburgers a Volksschule, in the present- 
day sense of the word, scarcely existed at that time even in the 
larger cities, and most certainly not in the country. 

The Reformation brought a change in Brandenburg as well 
as in other parts of Germany. The leaders of the reform move- 
ment wanted every Protestant child to receive some ^^^^ 
training in the catechism, reading, and singing, and KUster- 
consequently schools had to be estabhshed for this pur- sacristan- 
pose. In the larger villages the pastor was to give this ^^^^^^ 
instruction, but in the smaller places the sexton or sacristan was 
the teacher, and hence the name sacristan-schools. And just 



2 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

here the church got its firm hold upon the elementary schools, 
for the sacristans or, indeed, the pastors became the future 
elementary school-teachers. The sextons or the pastors re- 
ceived no salaries except that they might receive some articles 
of food or fuel from the parents of their pupils. At that time 
there were no special schoolhouses and the living-room of the 
teacher served as a classroom. These sextons were generally 
uneducated hand-workers, with no professional training at all, 
the chief requirements being piety and orthodoxy. Teaching 
consisted chiefly in giving out passages of Scripture to be memo- 
rized, and later hearing the recital of these passages. 

In various provinces and principalities which to-day form a 
part of Prussia, there were school regulations dealing with 
Volksschulen, issued during the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies. That of Pomerania was issued in 1563. Duke Johann 
Georg had one drawn up for Brandenburg in 1573 ; the Great 
Elector issued the school regulation for Cleve in 1662 ; and still 
another was published for the same principality in 1687. Not 
much, however, was accomplished for the Volksschulen in Prussia 
in a practical way until the accession of Frederick William I, in 
1 7 13. Previous to his time the progress of theory had far out- 
run practice, and though many school laws were already in 
existence, very few, if any, were in successful operation. The 
schools were very poor, and the teachers, without much prep- 
aration of any kind, even worse. A very interesting report ^ 
of the examination of candidates for a teaching position makes 
very clear what kind of instruction the children received in the 
German schools even as late as 1729, the date of this report. 

Five applicants reported for a vacant position, with whom a singing 
examination was undertaken in the church before the whole community. 

I. Martin Ott, shoemaker, thirty years old, sang in the church: 
(a) Christ lag in Todesbanden; (b) Jesus, mein Zuversicht; (c) Sieh hier 

1 Paulig, Friedrich I, Konig von Preussen, p. 278 ff. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 3 

bin ich, Ehrenkonig. Has much melody to learn ; his voice could be better. 
He read Genesis 10 : 26 ; spelled verses 26-29. The reading was that of a 
beginner. In spelling he made several mistakes. He read three kinds of 
handwriting, fairly well. He answered three questions based on general 
intelligence. He wrote three lines of dictation, — four mistakes. He did 
not know anything at all about arithmetic. 

2. Jacob Maehl, weaver, who has passed fifty years on earth, sang: 
ia) Mensch, bewein; (b) Zieh' ein zu deinen Thoren; (c) Wer nur den 
lieben Gott Idsst walten. Melody went over into many other tunes ; voice 
should be stronger; squeaked several times. He read Joshua 19:1-7, 
making ten errors; spelled Joshua 18 : 23-26, without an error; read three 
different handwritings with hesitation ; answered questions from general 
knowledge, in which he gave satisfaction. He wrote three lines of dicta- 
tion, making five errors. He knew nothing of arithmetic. 

3. Phillip Hopp, tailor, already an old, little, infirm man of sixty. He 
sang (a) Ein Ldmmlein geht; {b) Mitten wir im Leben. He, possessing voice 
like a bawling calf, also fell into the wrong tune. He read Joshua 19 : 7-12 
poorly, and spelled very miserably ; failed on all three questions on general 
knowledge; attempted to read three different handwritings and failed; 
wrote only three words of the dictation, which he could not read himself, so 
we refrain from speaking of it. Arithmetic was unknown to him, — he 
counted on his fingers. 

4. Johann Schiitt, tinker, has wandered fifty years on this earth, sang 
the following : {a) Ewigkeit,das Donnerwort; (b) Eine ist not ; (c) Liebster 
Jesu, wir sind hier, with considerable applause. Spelled Genesis 10 : 13-18, 
not at all badly. In the catechism one noticed that he was not in good 
practice in some parts ; wrote three lines of dictation, making ten mistakes. 
He understood only addition in arithmetic. 

5. Frederick Loth, under officer, forty-five years of age, made a cam- 
paign in regiment against Sweden and thereby lost a leg. He sang the 
following: {a) Christ lag in Todcsbanden; (b) Allein Gott in der Hoh'; pos- 
sessed strong voice without melody ; read slowly three handwritings. He 
knew the catechism and did fairly well on four questions on general knowl- 
edge. In three lines of dictation he made eight errors. He knew addition 
and a little subtraction. 

It was unanimously felt that Jacob Maehl was the most capable in 
comparison with the others, especially with the tinker, who was not to be 
trusted, since he tramped about the country a great deal, or with the officer, 
because he might be suspected of using his sword too severely upon the 



4 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

poor youngsters, Vvliich might cause grievous pain to the sympathizing 
mothers, and besides, there is a difference to be made between rough soldiers 
and such little worms (children) . The pastor had a vote taken, and Maehl 
was unanimously elected. After the vote had been taken the decision, to- 
gether with the necessary warning as to conduct, was announced to the suc- 
cessful candidate and he was also informed that he should come immediately. 
Hereupon, these minutes were drawn up and signed with the blessing of 
the pastor and with mutual satisfaction both on his part and on the part 
of the community. 

After Melanchthon's death the Lutheran church and doc- 
trines became more and more dogmatic, even more so than the 
Pietism- Roman church had been" before the Reformation. 
Spener and This period of dogmatism continued until the end of 
the seventeenth century, when there arose a new ref- 
ormation within the ranks of the Lutherans. This new move- 
ment was known as pietism. It was a demand for the expres- 
sion of piety and devotion in individual action. Human con- 
duct was to be guided by inner reverence, devotion, and a con- 
ception of religion. The leaders of the new tendency in religious 
life held that the evils of the day were due to the poor and in- 
sufficient training which the children received, in that they did 
not know or understand the things they learned in school. The 
pietists insisted on an intelligent comprehension of the subject- 
matter of religious teaching rather than a mere memorization. 
As they believed in religious affairs that doctrine and practice 
should be united, so also they held that the thing and the object 
should be connected in the schools. Inasmuch as the pietists 
believed in the total depravity of man, it devolved upon them 
to provide education as a discipline for the conduct of life. And 
this they did, providing schools especially for the poor, who 
were very much neglected during this century. The pietistic 
movement, though primarily religious, had a great influence 
upon elementary schools during the first part of the eighteenth 
century, due to the fact that up to this time all elementary edu- 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 5 

cation was predominantly instruction in religion. The aim of 
the school, according to the theory and practice of the pietists, 
was a living knowledge of God, which would produce good 
citizenship. 

Jacob Spener is generally regarded as the founder of the 
pietistic movement. His work, however, was more directly 
connected with the church than with the school. To Spener 
was due the general practice of confirming children at the end 
of the fourteenth year. It is true that the confirmation service 
had existed before this time, but under Spener's influence con- 
firmation came to be looked upon as the closing point of the 
education of all children who did not intend to go to higher 
schools. It came in time to mark the end of the compulsory 
education period, and so until to-day confirmation and leaving 
the Volksschule are synchronous. Religious instruction was also 
benefited in that a definite aim, confirmation, was set for it. 
Spener's method of teaching the catechism was different from 
that which had preceded. Hitherto, catechism and other re- 
ligious work had been merely a matter of memory, — learning of 
words. Spener insisted on an understanding knowledge of all 
that was learned, and to accomplish his end he developed a sys- 
tem of questions and answers, which was an improvement over 
the old method. This new catechetical method had also an 
influence on the methods employed in teaching the other 
subjects. 

Still greater in his influence upon the Volksschulen was August 
Hermann Francke, born in 1663. He became a professor at the 
University of Halle in i6qi, and at the same time „ 

Francke 

became pastor of the church at Glaucha. The '' ragged 
school" or orphanage at Halle, which Francke founded, together 
with a number of other types of schools, exerted a great influence 
over the development of the German Volksschule. During the 
century following a large number of orphanages were founded, 



6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

modeled after the one at Halle. The chief aim of such schools 
was the development of Christian character. Rehgion, as 
hitherto, held the chief place in the curriculum. Francke, how- 
ever, held that other subjects were equally necessary for the poor 
youths; and consequently, reading, writing, arithmetic, ele- 
mentary science, geography, history, government, and hand- 
work were each given a place in the curriculum.^ 

The instruction in rehgion in the typical school founded by 
Francke consisted of the catechism, and passages from the 
Bible, and reading of the Bible. Catechism work was 
Voiks^chuie the most important. The method, briefly, was the 
recitation of the Lutheran catechism, and explanation 
of it, and then application of its principles to the daily Hfe of the 
children. Almost one half of the time was devoted to religion, 
and in some schools very nearly all of the time was given to this 
subject. However, in the school at Halle an equal number of 
hours was devoted to reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing 
as was given to religion. The method in reading was as follows : 
The teacher began by writing the letters on the board, pro- 
nouncing the name of each letter, and having the children re- 
peat them, and later pick out the same letters in their books. 
The next step was syllabication and spelling. After the children 
had practiced reading the syllables in their primers, they used 
their catechism books for further exercise of this nature. The 
Bible was used as a reader, for there was no special reading 
book. Writing was also considered to be very important, but 
the method was peculiar. The teacher made copies for the 
children who were just beginning, and the children would simply 
write over the letters made by the teacher. In 1705 printed 
copies were furnished by the teacher. Guide lines were also 
used in order to teach the children to write straight. Arithmetic 

1 Schmid, Geschichte der Pddagogik, III, Schulordnungen der Francke'schen 
Stiftungen. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 7 

was begun after the children could read. The four fundamental 
processes, numeration, and the rule of three was the course, 
though sometimes fractions were taught. Later, however, de- 
nominate numbers, i.e. marks, hundredweight, etc., etc., were 
taught in order to show the value of arithmetic. Examples were 
solved on the board, at least one example a day. The pupil 
would solve, describing the processes as he went to the listening 
class. This method is still the most common one as far as 
board work is concerned in the schools which we have visited. 
Music had also quite a place in the schools for it was closely con- 
nected with singing in the church. Musical notation was 
taught the boys, while the girls learned only rote singing. The 
other subjects mentioned in the Schulordmmg were barely 
touched. The theory and practice in Francke's school, as in 
others, were not always on speaking terms. ^ 

Perhaps the greatest service of Francke to the German school 
system was the foundation of the Seminarium prcBceptorum, the 
normal training school, where not only elementary seminarium 
school-teachers were prepared, but also where students praecepto- 
entering other fields could obtain pedagogical training. 
This Seminarium at Halle became the model for institutions 
for training of elementary teachers throughout all Germany. 

Another service of the work of Francke at Halle consisted in 
the issuance of a school regulation, which was copied in many 
states and principalities of Germany. Though all differed some- 
what from the original regulation at Halle, they show Francke's 
influence, just as the regulations of the previous century showed 
the influence of the Schulmethodus of Gotha. The Schulord- 
nung of the schools at Halle was issued in 1702, that of Wal- 
deck in 1704, Saxony in 1724, Wiirttemberg 1728, and Prussia 
in 1736. 

1 Eckstein, Die Gestaltung der Volksschide diirch den Francke' schen Pietismus, 
Leipzig, 1867. 



8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

It is very difficult to say just exactly what the results of 
pietism were. At least, one is justified in saying that more 
general education was provided for the poor, that the 
PkSsm* beginnings of teacher training were begun under the 
leader of the movement, and that the method of teach- 
ing by pure memorization received a setback, though to no 
great degree, in view of the extent to which it is still employed 
in Germany to-day. 

Rousseau's educational theories transplanted on German soil 
gave rise to a movement known as philanthropinism, amove- 
Phiianthrop- Hient which may be looked upon as a forerunner of 
""^°^ the newer pedagogy, although it had not so very 

much direct influence upon the elementary schools of the time. 
The period of childhood in the age of Louis XIV was one of 
torture. School was a place of punishment. Memorization 
was almost the sole method of instruction and the rod furnished 
the chief incentive. 

A list of punishments and the number inflicted during a 
Conditions P^^iod of service of fifty-two years, has been left us 
in the by a Swabian elementary school teacher.^ It is an 

School . . , 1 1 fr r 1 ' 

m teres tmg commentary on the school life of the time. 
Frederick WilHam I has been called the father of the Prussian 
Volksschule. He was deeply imbued with the conviction that 
Frederick Cultivation of mind and heart was the firm foundation 
William I Qf Yds people's happiness. He made the beginning of 
this foundation on which the elementary school system in 
Prussia rests to-day. The schools in 17 13, the year of Frederick 
WiUiam's accession to the throne, belonged to the church, and 
only in so far as the state controlled the administration of the 
church had the state had anything at all to do with the schools. 
Up to this time the chief aim of the school and its work had been 
to prepare the children to take part in the life of the church. 
1 Strack, Geschichte des deutschen Volksschulwesens, p. 275. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 9 

Frederick William did not change this suddenly, but he took the 
first step in making the elementary school an institution of the 
state, a task which even now has not been fully completed. 
He set a general training as the aim of the Volksschule. 

Frederick WilHam I had scarcely ascended the throne, when he 
issued the first general school law, known as the Reformierte 
Gymnasien- und Schulordnung v. 24. Oktoher 1713} It was in 
itself not complete, but was enlarged from time to time by 
various edicts. This regulation or law shows very distinctly 
the influence of Francke in that the chief weight was laid upon 
education such as would make the children pious and God- 
fearing. In 1 7 1 5 another regulation was issued which established 
inspection of the schools. This inspection was placed, of course, 
in the hands of the clergy. Clerical supervision was by no 
means new in Germany. Largely as a result of this law it came 
about that in later years the supervision of the schools lay so 
largely in the hands of the local pastors and the superintendents. 
The inspection concerned itself chiefly with the ability and 
character of the teachers and the methods employed. 

In 1 71 7 the king issued a general compulsory attendance law. 
Parents were required to send their children to school regularly 
between the ages of five and twelve. The tuition for compulsory 
each pupil amounted to five Pfennige a week, or a little attendance 
more than one cent in American money. The term of com- 
pulsory attendance extended to the end of the twelfth year, but 
in reality they could be held in school until they were considered 
sufficiently equipped in religion, reading, writing, and arith- 
metic. Peculiarly enough the termination of the compulsory 
period in Prussia to-day is not set at any definite date, but ends 
with confirmation, or at the time when the school and church 
authorities decide that the child has acquired sufficient knowl- 
edge. This point is commonly accepted to be at the end of the 

^ Vonnbaum, Band I, 210 ff. 



lO PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



I 



fourteenth year. It only goes to show how strong the hold of 
custom is upon the schools. It must not be understood that 
this compulsory school regulation was fully enforced right from 
the very start. In the country especially it was not enforced, 
first on account of the poverty of the parents, although the law \ 
provided for such cases, and second, because of the unwilling- 'i 
ness of the patrons (landlords) to support the schools. The 
king had the soldiers taught in order to increase the number of 
those who could read and write, and also ordered that no one I 
should be confirmed who could not read. These regulations 
appHed to all Prussian lands except Cleve. The schools iiv 
Pomerania were, or had been, neglected, and the king issued 
numerous regulations for the benefit of that province.^ For 
the most part, these regulations were repetitions of earlier ones 
during his reign, but Article 3 of the regulation of July 6, 1735, 
is of special interest in that it says: ''Pastors must employ no 
teacher without an examination, or without the knowledge of the 
presiding officer i^pmpo situs) of the synod." This was indeed a 
great step in advance, though, to be sure, the requirements of 
this examination were not very severe. In another regulation 
for the Pomeranian schools, in 1736,2 general school and church 
conferences were ordered for every three years. These con- 
ferences were to discuss the conditions of the schools and meas- 
ures to be taken for their betterment. They determined whether 
there were teachers or sacristans in all communities, and whether 
the teachers had been examined. Salaries, methods of teaching, 
conditions of school buildings, and the teacher's dwelling also 
came in for reports and discussion. 

The schools in Pomerania were supported according to the 

regulations of a rescript of 1737. In general, the teachers were 

paid out of funds obtained by the rent of common lands and 

tuition fees. Article 5 of this rescript throws an amusing light 

^ Ronne, L Teil, p. 126 ff. 2 /^^^^ 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE ii 

on the social condition of the teacher. It is as follows :^ ''Only 
such persons shall be employed as teachers, who can do work 
outside of school and thereby earn something, so ^^^^^^^^ 
that they will not become entirely a burden to 
the community." There were other regulations by the king 
which affected the social position of the teacher. In 1722 
Frederick William decreed that the only handworkers who could 
be employed as teachers were tailors, weavers, smiths, wheel- 
wrights, and carpenters. Again, in the ''Declaration of May 2, 
1736," he ordained that teachers, who also followed the tailoring 
trade, could employ no more than two helpers and could make 
clothes for the peasants only. Still again, in a rescript, the king 
ordered that outside of the sacristan and teachers there should 
be no tailors in the country communities at all. It is perfectly 
clear from such regulations that it never occurred to any one that 
a teacher should not also have a trade, and it was not until a 
long time after this that the country teacher was made inde- 
pendent of outside work. At that time a teacher's salary was 
reckoned in tuition fees, income from the trade, wood and food 
furnished by the community, and use of land, the latter two 
of which items survive until to-day. 

The condition of the schools in East Prussia was particularly 
poor. In order to regulate and encourage the establishment of 
new country schools in this province, Frederick William issued 
in 1736 the Principia Regulativa, a general plan for the foun- 
dation and support of elementary schools.^ The most im- 
portant parts of the law are as follows : 

1. The associated communities shall estabHsh and support 
schoolhouses just as they do parish houses. 

2. His majesty will furnish free building material. Doors, 
windows, and stoves will be provided from the common funds. 

^ Ronne, I. Teil, p. 124 ff. 

2 Lewin, Geschichte der Entwicklung der preussischen Volksschule, p. 55 ff. 



12 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

3. His majesty will furnish fuel free, which the communities 
must deliver. 

4. Every church, in the city as well as in the country, shall 
pay four (4) Thaler ($3.00) every year for the support of the 
teacher, in return for which the pastor shall require the teacher 
to help in the church service, that is, in cleaning the church. 
The praicentores receive no part of the four Thaler, which are 
solely for the maintenance of the teacher. 

5. Also for the benefit of the teacher a cow and a calf, a 
couple of swine, and some poultry are kept free on the com- 
mons, and some hay and straw are furnished free. 

6. The teacher receives a M or gen of land from the king. 
The community work the land and keep it in good condition. 

7. The teacher also receives from all the peasants of his dis- 
trict one fourth ScheJJel of rye, and two Metzen of barley (one 
Schefel is about fifty-five liters or sixteen Metzen) for each Hufe 
of land {Iluje of land is equal to seven and a half Hectars or 
thirty M or gen). . . . 

8. Every pupil from the age of five to twelve pays the teacher 
yearly fifteen Prussian Groschen (forty-five PJennige). 

Thanks to Frederick William's increasing efforts the actual 
conditions of the schools were greatly improved. Before his 
death 1 1 60 new elementary schools had been established in East 
Prussia and Littau.^ The king recognized the value of well- 
prepared teachers and gave liberal support to every institution 
which undertook the training of teachers. To be sure the num- 
ber of trained teachers at this time was very small, and it is due 
to this fact that the Prussian Volksschule made nothing more than 
a solid beginning during the first half of the eighteenth century. 

In the first half of his reign Frederick the Great did very little 
for the development of the Volksschule, simply because he was 
too busy waging wars against his many enemies. In the latter 

1 Lewin, Geschichtc der Entwicklung der preussischm Volksschule. 



I 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCEULE 13 



half of his reign he gave much encouragement and real support to 
the elementary schools. Although he himself was a freethinker, 
Frederick wished that his people would return to the Frederick 
faith of their fathers, and for this reason he en- *^® ^^®** 
couraged the work of Julius Hecker, who worked great reforms in 
behalf of elementary education. 

Johann Julius Hecker, born at Werden in 1707, took up the 
study of theology at Halle, while there came under the influence 
of Francke, and became so much interested in the juUus 
latter's pedagogical reforms that he entered the Semi- decker 
narium prcdceptorum and afterwards became a teacher. It was 
in Halle that Hecker became acquainted with Semler's Real- 
schule, for the further development of which the former did so 
much. In 1739 Hecker was called to be pastor at Berlin. Aside 
from his pastoral duties he found time to improve the schools. 
He established four-grade schools in which almost five hundred 
children were trained according to the methods which Hecker 
had learned at Halle. In 1747 he established his famous Real- 
schule, which prospered in a very unexpected manner and its 
influence has never waned since that time. 

But Hecker needed capable teachers for his school, and being 
unable to obtain suitable ones, he recommended to the king that 
the latter establish a normal school for the training of elemen- 
tary teachers. So in 1748, in connection with the Realschule, 
Hecker opened his school for teachers, which, of course, was 
modeled after the training school of Francke in Halle. 
Frederick supported the institution as liberally as he could, and 
with the combined efforts of monarch and schoolmaster, a very 
important step had been taken in the training of teachers. 

Practically no progress was made along educational lines until 
peace was finally made in 1763. The condition of the schools 
in the country and in small towns was wretched. A report ^ 

^ Clausnitzer, Volksschtdpddagogik Friedrichs des Grossen, p. 58 ff. 



14 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

dealing with the condition of the schools at that time says: 
*'That the country schools in our Mark are in a state of decay, 
none can deny. That great injury is done thereby, that the 
youth, and the cause of the king and the nation suffer, is plain. 
It is to be regretted that there are many villages in which only 
one or two are able to read and write, so that the regiments can- 
not find a good sergeant, and it is often very difficult for them 
to understand the written proclamations of the district adminis- 
trators. The cause of this decay is not a lack of regulations and 
orders, but a lack in their execution. . . . The officials, noble- 
men, and judges receive their commands, publish them, and there 
the matter remains." Then the writer goes on to give other 
causes of poor schools, chief among them being the incapacity 
and immorality of the teachers. 

Hecker worked out a school law for the regulation of the 
country and village schools. It was the first and last law which 
General Prussia has had that touches all sides of the question. 
Land-Schui- It appeared in 1763. We have not space to give the 
eg emen j^^ ^^ .^^ entirety, but we recommend it to those in- 
terested, because it points out very clearly the direction which 
the German elementary school was to take and which it has 
taken. The topics touched upon by the law were compulsory 
attendance, school year, school day, school fees, discipline, 
teachers, course of study, methods, and school supervision and 
administration. 

By the new law the principle of compulsory attendance was 
reasserted, the country schools were taken from under the care 
Meaning of oi the nobility and put under the protection and super- 
theLaw vision of the state; the supervision of the schools 
was to be exercised as before by the clergy, but in behalf of the 
state ; the whole procedure of instruction was regulated by law, 
school hours, curricula, and schedules; text-books had to be 
approved by the authorities thereafter. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCEULE 15 















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i6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The law was a model for its age, but, unfortunately, it was 
not enforced in all parts of the kingdom, because the communi- 
ties were struggling under financial burdens already too heavy. 
The state itself could give no assistance. Then, again, lack of 
teachers and low salaries offered great obstacles to a successful 
carrying out of the law. Further, the nobility, just as they are 
to-day, were opposed. In Heppe (vol. 3, p. 37), we read that 
the state of officials and nobility wished to keep the peasant 
ignorant and uncultured, so that he would be that much the 
more willing to work the fields and fill the coffers of his lord. 
Beckdorff {Jahrhucher, vol. Ill, p. 42 ff.) in speaking of the situa- 
tion says that the intentions of the king and the Consistorium 
in Berlin were baffied, first, by the unwillingness of the nobility, 
officials, magistrates, and even clergy to perform their duty; 
second, by a lack of capable teachers and of normal schools; 
third, by low salaries ; and fourth, by the wretched conditions 
existing in the school buildings or rooms in which the classes 
were held. 

The Reglement of 1763 was for the evangefical schools. In 
1765 the General-Land-Schul-Reglement fiir Katholischen Schulen 
School i^ Silesia and Glatz was issued, but it was no more 

fo7caTho"ic J^y^^^^^ received than the first regulation had been, 
Schools in to which the latter regulation was very similar. The 
suesia 176s x.2ih\Q on the previous page is the schedule of the village 
school as drawn up in the regulation, which is printed at length 
in V. Ronne.^ 

In this Catholic school regulation a better training of teachers 
was demanded in that the teachers were required to attend 
normal schools whenever possible. Compulsory school attend- 
ance, free tuition for poor children, higher salaries, and better 
school buildings were some of the features which received especial 
attention. The subjects of instruction were religion, German, 
^ Das Unterrichtswesen des preussischen Siaates, vol. I, p. 131. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 17 

singing, writing, arithmetic, orthography, history, and natural 
science. This is one of the first times that the subjects known 
as the Realien, which include geography, history, and natural 
and physical philosophy, were introduced into the elementary 
schools. 

The prejudice of the people against the methods used and 
the text-books adopted, the poverty of the parents, poor salaries, 
the opposition of the lower classes to all education, 

^^ Failure 

and illy prepared teachers were the causes of the small 
success which this regulation attained. 

Upon the first partition of Poland, in 1772, the lands which 
fell to the share of Prussia were in a very bad state educationally. 
There were practically no schools at all, and to com- improve- 
bat the influence of Polish serfdom, Frederick the mentof 

Schools in 

Great ordered that schools with German teachers be west 
established. To further this project, Frederick set ^"^^^^^ 
aside a fund of six hundred thousand marks, from which an in- 
come of thirty thousand marks was derived.^ This income was 
sufficient to establish one hundred seventy schools. Since there 
was a great lack of teachers, a large number were imported from 
Saxony ; but to create a supply of teachers for the future, a num- 
ber of normal schools were established, in Dexen in 1774, in 
Minden in 1776, and in Halberstadt in 1778. In spite of these 
efforts there was still a lack of teachers. To overcome the want, 
Frederick ordered that cripples from the army should be em- 
ployed as teachers and sacristans in the village. The Minister 
von Zedlitz opposed filling the schools with cripples, but the 
king insisted that the old soldiers deserved being taken care of, 
inasmuch as they had risked their lives for their country. As a 
matter of fact, few of these crippled soldiers were fitted for 
teaching, but Schleiermacher ^ remarks that in many cases 

^ Bona-Meyer, Friedrichs des Grossen Pddagogische Schriften, p. 22 ff. 
"^ Ibid., p. 25. 
c 



l8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

these soldiers made good young Germans out of the youths, 
which was a great deal more than many teacher- tailors and 
teacher-cobblers accomplished. 

Frederick the Great, as many of his successors, adopted the 
policy that it was unwise to educate the lower classes too well, 
for he felt that it tended to make them dissatisfied with exist- 
ing conditions. In a letter to Minister von ZedHtz in 1779, he 
wrote as follows : ^ 

It is well that the teachers in the country instruct the young in religion 
and morals, and they must not depart from this practice, in order that they 
may remain content with their religion and not become Catholics, since the 
Protestant faith is the best, much better than the Catholic. Therefore, 
the teachers must take pains that the people retain their attachment for 
religion, and educate them far enough that they neither steal nor murder. 
Thievery will not cease, that is human nature ; for naturally all people are 
thieving. ... In Lauenburg and Biiton it is more necessary than else- 
where to give the children a better type of education, as it is sadly deficient 
there. The education in Altenburg is very good and the people there are 
orderly and well-behaved. If we could get teachers from there who were 
not too expensive, it would be very fine. You see what can be done about 
that. It is sufficient in the flat country (northern Germany), if the people 
can read and write a little ; for if they know too much, they rush off to the 
cities and want to become secretaries or clerks, etc. For this reason, we 
must so arrange the instruction of the youth in the flat country that they 
learn that which is most necessary for their knowledge, yet they must be 
taught in such a way that they will not run away from the villages but re- 
main there contentedly. . . . 

FREDERICK. 

The king wished the training of the youth to be regulated 
according to the needs of their later occupation and position in 
life. By limiting their education, it was practically certain that 
the boys and girls of the lower classes would be compelled to 
follow the same occupations which their parents followed, and 
would most likely remain in the same community. Prussian 

1 Bona-Meyer, p. 170. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 19 

kings have always desired that all their subjects belonging to 
the lower classes be educated to a certain extent and "in such 
a way" that they be content with their appointed lot. It has 
been by the method of instruction, perhaps, more than by the 
content, that the German elementary school system has pro- 
duced the tractable, easily managed citizen. 

About the middle of the eighteenth century the rationalistic 
movement, which came to Germany from England by way of 
France, began to crowd back the pietistic movement. 

Rationalism 

The rationalists rejected every supernatural revelation 
and recognized those principles of faith only which can be con- 
ceived of by human reason, such as belief in a God, virtue, im- 
mortality, etc. This period was known as the Enlightenment. 
The philosophical pedagogical tendency of this period had for 
its purpose the free and natural development of man. Its chief 
principle was to bring about the earthly happiness of man. Its 
representative in England was John Locke; and Jean Jacques 
Rousseau in France. In Germany the adherents of this move- 
ment were called philanthropinists, among whom were Basedow, 
Salzmann, and Campe. They strove to free man, and youth as 
well, from every form of compulsion. Hence as educators they 
advocated milder discipline, physical training, practical and use- 
ful subject matter, and instruction as pleasing and attractive as 
possible. Frederick the Great, under the influence of Voltaire, 
encouraged these pedagogical and rehgious doctrines in every 
possible way. Among the philanthropinists who were particu- 
larly active for educational reform in Prussia were Minister von 
Zedlitz and Eberhard von Rochow. 

Frederick gave von ZedHtz charge of the educational and 
religious affairs of Prussia in 1770. Von ZedHtz had studied at 
Halle and while there had come under the influence of 

T T- T 1 -I • Zedlitz 

John Locke, upon whose treatise on education he had 

heard lectures. His greatest interest lay in the reform of the 



20 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

elementary schools, as a result of which he issued a school law for 
the Duchy of Cleve and the Mark in 1772. 

According to the regulation all children were to attend school 
from five or six, to thirteen or fourteen years of age. The per- 
Reguiation sonal side of the teacher was greatly emphasized and 
of 1772 discipline was made much milder. The physical and 

moral health of the children was a subject of greatest concern 
to the teacher. The subjects of instruction were religion, read- 
ing, writing, music, arithmetic, and nature study. The schools 
were frequently inspected and supervised by the inspectors, who 
were generally clergymen. The chief difference between this 
regulation and those of a few years earlier in the time of Hecker 
was in the amount of emphasis that Zedlitz laid upon the spiritual 
qualifications and the personality of the teacher. Teachers were 
to be examined in content and in method. They were compelled 
to exercise a greater degree of mildness toward children, and to 
make instruction as pleasant as possible. In the course of study 
less attention was given religion and catechism, while more time 
was given to ^'sharpening of the understanding," and the acquire- 
ment of useful and practical facts. This was the real beginning 
of the introduction of the Realien into Volksschulen. 

Eberhard von Rochow did more effective work than Zedlitz 

for the betterment of the village schools. Rochow had been an 

_ , ofiicer in the Seven Years' War, and as a result of a 

Von Rochow . • 1 r r 1 

wound was mcapacitated for further service, after 
which time he devoted himself to his estates in the vicinity of 
Brandenburg. Later he was made canon of the cathedral at 
Halberstadt, where he materially improved the Volksschulen Sind 
estabHshed a normal school which still stands to-day. He did 
his best work, however, on his own estates. In 1771 there was 
famine and pest throughout the land; and it was during this 
time of distress that Rochow saw that the only true basis of help 
for the lower classes was education — education away from super- 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 21 

stition and poverty which were on every hand. He beHeved 
that this could be done best by an improvement of the village 
schools. 

This improvement was to be brought about in several ways. 
First of all, he demanded that a rural school should no longer be 
taught by artisans and ignorant servants, but that all g^^^^ ^^ 
teaching positions be filled by theological candidates or improve- 
young men who had enjoyed a good education. 
Second, the teacher should receive a salary of at least three 
hundred marks a year in addition to fuel, dwelling, garden, and 
the like, in order that he could devote his entire time to 
school work. Third, the schools were to have at least two 
classes each. Fourth, the schoolrooms were to be kept clean, 
well ventilated, and attractive. And fifth, instruction was to 
be free. Rochow wrote the first German reader, the ''Children's 
Friend," which was said to be the best reader for children ever 
written up to that time.^ 

Still more important for the development of the Volksschulen 
were the model schools which Rochow caused to be established 
in the villages upon his estates. The best known 
school thus founded was the one at Reckahn. Rochow Jt'^Re^kahn 
had published a book entitled "Instruction for 
Country School Teachers." It so fired the enthusiasm of the 
young church organist of Halberstadt, Heinrich Bruns, who had 
previously been Rochow's secretary, that in 1773 he offered him- 
self to Rochow as teacher in this village school at Reckahn. 
He received one hundred eighty thaler s (540 M.) yearly, in addi- 
tion to dwelling, garden, and suppKes. The school proved to 
be a great success and many similar ones were established. 
Bruns was so successful in carrying out Rochow's ideas, that 
within the first ten years of the school's existence more than one 
thousand visitors, among whom were Basedow and Salzmann, 
^ Lewin, Geschichte der Entwicklung der preussischen Volksschule, p. 125. 



22 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

had journeyed to Reckahn in order to make a study of the 
system and methods there in vogue. 

No one influenced the development of the Prussian elementary 
school during the last half of the eighteenth century more than 
did Rochow. He was called the Pestalozzi of Prussia. His in- 
fluence was somewhat lessened after the death of Frederick the 
Great, due to the deleterious influence of Wollner, who came 
into educational prominence in the reign of Frederick William II. 

Of the many proposals which were advanced by von Zedlitz, 
who was continued as Minister for two years under Frederick 
jjjg William II, the establishment of an Oherschulkollegium 

Oberschui- to control the entire school system of Prussia was the 
only one that was immediately realized. The estab- 
lishment of this controlling body was of great importance for the 
development of the Prussian school system, inasmuch as thereby 
the schools were withdrawn from ecclesiastical control, and school 
and church discipline were separated. The Oherschulkollegium 
stood directly under the king, and to it were given the entire 
control and management of the whole school system.^ Von 
Zedlitz was not allowed to see many of his reforms carried out, 
for he was removed in 1788 and succeeded by von Wollner. 
He was the leader of a movement antagonistic to the Enlighten- 
ment and Philanthropinism of the early and middle eighteenth 
century. Immediately on becoming Minister, von Wollner 
issued a religious edict which was intended to strengthen the 
power of the established churches and which made it almost a 
crime to express anything but an orthodox opinion. 

The establishment of normal schools in various parts of 
Prussia was one of the important things which Wollner accom- 
Advanced pHshed. Also during his ministry, new subjects were 
steps introduced into some of the schools. Boys were in- 

structed in basketry and tree and bee culture, while the girls 

1 Ronne, part i, pp. 76-77. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 23 

were taught sewing. It is also interesting to note that the 
salaries of teachers increased greatly before the end of Frederick 
William's reign. 

In spite of all the efforts made in the latter half of School Con- 

1 T7- 77 7 7 '11 • ditions at 

the eighteenth century, the Volksschulen were still in a the End of 
wretched condition. Bassewitz says of the schools in g^g^^^'^^g^. 
Brandenburg : ^ tury 

The condition of the higher and lower elementary school, both in the 
cities and rural districts, was very poor. Outside of the normal school in 
Berlin, there was only one training school for Lutheran school-teachers 
in the electorate. The activity of the teachers — scarcely one sixth of 
even the most meager training — met therefore with little success, as later 
experience demonstrated. The largest number of the other teachers in 
the fiat country were either entirely without training, except the few who 
had received some instruction from the clergy, or were selected entirely 
from invahds, patch-tailors, night watchmen, or shepherds. ... It was 
no wonder then the rural youth grew up without training or religion, and 
the parents lived in deep ignorance and even immorality. ... In the 
towns and in the small cities the conditions were little better than in the 
country. Even in the middle-sized cities, there was generally only one 
class for the boys and girls together. The city authority did very little 
for the improvement of either schools or teachers. Conditions were best 
where candidates in theology took over the rectorship of the so-called 
Latin schools. One tried first this, and then that, for the improvement 
of the conditions of the country school-teacher, but all to no purpose. . . . 
Through the introduction of silk-raising an effort was made to better the 
economic position of the rural teacher. All rural teachers at one time or 
another occupied themselves with the silk industry, and earned ten, twenty, 
or thirty Thalers a year, and sometimes more. 

Even as late as 1870 a few rural teachers were engaged in rais- 
ing silk. 2 

One of the most important measures in the history of the 
Prussian Volksschule was the Allgemeine Landrecht of i794> for 

* Thilo, Preussisches V olksschulwesen nach Geschichte und Statistik, Gotha, 1867, 

p. 51 ff. 

2 Ibid., p. 51. 



24 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

it made the state absolutely supreme in educational affairs. 
We quote some of the provisions of this code which deal with the 
secularization of school affairs. 

Section i. Schools and universities are state institutions 
state charged with the instruction of the youth in useful 

Institutions information and scientific knowledge. 

Section 2. Such institutions may be founded only with the 
knowledge and consent of the state. 

Section 9. All public schools and educational institutions are 
PubUc under the supervision of the state and are at all times 

Schools subject to its examination and inspection. 

Section 10. No one shall be denied entrance into the public 
schools on account of difference of religious belief. 

Section 11. Children who are to be educated in another 
religious faith than that of the school which they attend, 
cannot be compelled to take the religious instruction in that 
school. 

Section 12. The common schools, which are devoted to ele- 
Lower mentary instruction, are under the direction of the local 

Schools authorities of each locality, which authority, however, 
must always consult the clergy of the communtiy to which the 
school belongs. 

Section 13. It is the duty of the pastor of every community, 
both in the city and in the country, of the justices and courts, 
and also of the poKce magistrates, under the direction of the 
local authorities and clergy, to take over the inspection of the 
outer organization of the school and the execution of the adopted 
school regulations. 

Section 14. They must, in connection with these duties, re- 
port to the civil and religious authorities all deficiencies and irreg- 
ularities for the purpose of closer investigation. 

Section 15. The civil and religious authorities must respect 
the regulations issued or approved by the state and must not 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSL\N VOLKSSCHULE 25 

introduce or undertake anything of their own accord that would 
be contrary thereto. 

Section 18. Schoolhouses enjoy the same privileges as church 
buildings. 

Section 22. The appointment of teachers belongs as Appoint- 
a rule to the civil authority. Teachers 

Section 24. But in no case shall a teacher be ap- 
pointed, who has not previously passed an examination and 
received a certificate of ability to perform the duties of the office. 

Section 29. Where there is no foundation fund for the com- 
mon schools, the support of the schools devolves upon all the 
heads of famiUes of each community without distinc- 

, . . r • 1 • 1 T • . Support of 

tion as to religious confession, and without distmction Teachers 
as to whether they have children or not. 

Section 30. If several common schools are established in one 
locality for its inhabitants of different religious confession, then 
each citizen is obligated to the support of the school of his re- 
ligious faith only. 

Section 31. The amounts raised, which consist of money and 
supplies, must be divided equally among the heads of families 
according to their wealth, and must be approved by the civil 
authority. 

Section ;^2. Consequently, the children of such contributors 
are forever free from tuition. 

Section 34. The maintenance of school buildings and school 
teachers' dwellings must be borne by all the patrons of buildings 
the school. 

Section 43. Every inhabitant who cannot, or will not, furnish 
the necessary instruction for his children at home, is compelled 
to send them to school after they have completed their fifth year. 

Section 44. Only with the consent of the civil and 
religious authorities is a child allowed to postpone Attendance 
attendance at school. . . . 



26 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Section 46. Instruction in school must be continued until, in 
the opinion of the pastor, the child has acquired that knowledge 
necessary for every reasonable man in his walk of life. 

Section 47. The school inspectors are required to see that the 
teachers perform the duties of office faithfully and zealously. 

Section 48. It is their duty, with the aid of the civil authority, 
School to see that all children of compulsory school age are 

Inspectors j^gp^ [^ school, if necessary by force and by punishment 
of negligent parents. 

Section 49. The local pastor is obligated to aid actively in 
Inspection accomplishing the purpose of the school not only by 
by Local inspection, but also by giving instruction to the 

Pd,stor 

teacher and the pupils. 
Section 50. School discipline may never amount to mis- 
treatment, which might in any way be injurious to the 
health of the children. 
Section 51. If the teacher believes that by the lighter punish- 
ments addiction of the child to evil and corruption cannot be 
avoided, he must then make a report to the civil and religious 
authorities. 

Section 52. The latter must then, in conference with the 
parents or guardians, examine the matter more closely and adopt 
measures necessary for improvement. 

Section 53. But in no case may the limits prescribed for 
parental discipline be exceeded. 

None of the ideas contained in the above quoted articles were 
entirely new, but the General Code was of particular value be- 
cause it restated and emphasized several principles 

Importance i • i i i • 

upon which all subject legislation regarding the Prus- 
sian Volksschule is based. The most important of these prin- 
ciples were that the schools were state institutions, that educa- 
tion was compulsory, and that the community was responsible 
for the maintenance of its schools. 



■1 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCEULE 27 

Even if we are able to mark here and there steps of 
progress taken during the reign of Frederick WilHam II, 
there was nothing accomphshed of vital importance which 
had not already been done, unless we name the formula- 
tion of educational law as found in the Allgemeinen Land- 
recht. 

When Frederick William II died, he left behind to his young 
son an unenviable heritage. Prussia was then tottering and 
was destined to become shortly almost a vassal state Prussian 
of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Prussians were trusting ^iscipUne 
to the former greatness and reputation of Frederick the Great's 
armies to save them from the all-destroying hand in the West. 
The Prussian discipline, simplicity, and piety of earlier days had 
been wiped out, partly by the spirit of the age, and partly by 
the example set by the ruling classes. Ignorance, desire for 
luxury, and personal gain had driven ideals of duty and service 
and ability for sacrifice from the hearts of the people. The 
unity between the masses and the higher classes was broken 
down, and consequently patriotism decreased in an alarming 
degree. 

Frederick William III was very different from his father. 
Where his father desired only splendor, the new king preached 
simplicity ; where the father insisted upon orthodoxy, Frederick 
the son advocated freedom of religious belief. Prussia William iii 
was particularly fortunate in this time of stress to have such a 
man at the head of the government, and Prussia was still more 
fortunate in the fact that Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the 
wife of their king, for her example in womanly virtues, faithful- 
ness, and patriotism made her the most beloved queen that ever 
graced the royal throne. 

One of the first acts of the new king's reign was to dismiss 
Wollner from office because of the latter's insistence upon ex- 
amination for all teachers and clergy to determine their ortho- 



28 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS j 

doxy. Von Wassow was appointed to succeed him. The king 
in a Kabinettsordre of 1798 said: ^ 

I consider that the school system in my whole kingdom is a subject 
which deserves general attention and care. Instruction and education 
make the citizen, and both are, as a rule, intrusted to the schools, so that 
their influence upon the welfare of the people is of greatest importance. This 
fact has long been acknowledged, but nevertheless, we have given that 
care almost exclusively to the higher schools which was due the town and 
country schools, not only because a very large majority of our subjects 
are in need of such training, but also because thus far, with a few excep- 
tions, nothing at all has been done for them. Therefore, it is high time to 
provide for the purposeful education and instruction of the children of the 
middle and peasant classes. 

At the same time the king ordered an investigation of the 
schools in order that the manner and means of their reform 
could be determined. o. 

The reports ^ which came in as a result of the investigation' 

gave a picture of conditions in the schools which show the 

Condition schools in a none too favorable light. In Branden- 

ofthe burg there were two thousand two hundred forty- 

Schools . , 11. , , , 

two town schools, sixteen hundred seventy-three of 

which were of elementary rank, and to all intents and purposes 
I. Number were very similar to the country school. The salaries 
were wretched. 

Of the sixteen hundred fifty teachers only one hundred ninety- 
five received more than three hundred marks ($75) a year, 

2 Salaries ^^^^^^^^ hundred fifty-five received less, of whom 

eight hundred sixty had yearly salaries of less than one 
hundred twenty marks ($30). 

3 Houses Almost all schoolhouses had only one room, in 

which the teacher's family generally lived, and where 
frequently the teacher carried on his trade, tailoring being a 

^ Keller, Geschichte des preussischen Volksschulwesens, p. 133 ff. 

2 Heppe, Geschichte des deutschen Volksschulwesens, vol. Ill, p. 76 ff. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 29 

popular handicraft for teachers. In this respect teachers had 
not improved for several centuries. 

The school attendance was poor everywhere. There was no 
school at all in summer months, and in winter the attendance 
was exceedingly irregular, the children remaining away 4. Attend- 
from school for weeks at a time. As soon as the chil- ^^^ 
dren were ten or eleven years of age, the parents would keep 
them at home to do all kinds of work and would frequently hire 
them out as servants. 

Provision for the education of girls, as has always been the 
case in Germany, was the most wretched of all, both in the city 
and in the country. As a rule, the girls of all sizes ^ 

were taught as one group regardless of their ages and 
abihty. Unless the wife of the parish sexton instructed the 
girls in sewing, they went without the most useful subject of 
instruction in the present-day curriculum, if we except German 
itself. 

The estabhshment of ''industrial" schools in the last decade 
of the eighteenth century was a marked step in advance. There 
were schools in which, besides the ordinary subjects, ,. j^^^g, 
instruction was given in spinning, knitting, sewing, trial " 
forestry, gardening, and silk-raising. Teachers suit- 
able for such work, as well as proper equipment, were lacking. 
The condition has never been entirely overcome. 

Another type of popular education found its expression in 
the ''garrison" schools which had been established in the last 
quarter of the century. These schools had been estab- " Garrison" 
lished for the purpose of educating the soldiers while Schools 
serving in the army. Many of these schools became permanent 
features of the regiment's life. In connection with these schools 
there can be detected the Hohenzollern fear that the people 
{das Volk) would receive an education of too wide an extent. 
It came about that the teachers of some "garrison" schools 



30 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

became ambitious and placed the goal of the course too high. 
The king looked on this with disfavor because he beHeved that 
beyond a certain point education for the masses was very danger- 
ous. The following extract from a circular order of August 31, 
1799/ will illustrate this point. 

. . . Inasmuch as I have taken the pains to become acquainted with 
the inner organization of some "garrison" schools, I find that many have 
set for themselves goals which involve much difficulty in reaching and 
which go too far beyond the province of the "garrison" schools. Even if 
such difficulties were overcome, still the practical student of men cannot be 
indifferent to the results which are bound up with all extremes and which 
would in the case of a too wide expansion of popular instruction militate 
more than anywhere else against the welfare of the whole people. 

True enlightenment, in so far as it is necessary for his and the general 
good, is the incontestable right of that person, who, in the walk of life in 
which fate has placed him, knows his relationships and duties and has the 
ability to satisfy them. Therefore, to this purpose the instruction in all 
Volksschulen should be limited. The time which one applies therein to a 
superficial study of the sciences for which the ordinary man has little use 
is for the most part lost. He forgets quickly what he has heard, and there 
remain in his memory only incomplete conceptions out of which false con- 
clusions arise, and tastes which his social standing does not allow him to 
satisfy, and which only make him discontented and unhappy. [As now, a 
meagerly educated, contented lower class was the wish of the king.l 

Since the chief purpose of the "garrison" schools is to train future 
soldiers, it is only necessary to teach them what is necessary for the com- 
mon soldier, under officer, and sergeant to know in order to fill their places 
as useful and contented men. Even if this demand seems small, it is not 
really the case, if it be entirely satisfied. I demand for the intellectual 
training of a soldier that he know exactly his duties as a man, as a subject, 
and as a soldier; that he be taught enough of the different trades which 
are suited to his position in life, and of the means of applying this knowledge, 
so that he can select those things for his future calling which correspond 
most closely with his inclinations and ability ; and that he can read, write, 
and cipher well for the conduct of his own affairs as well as for the advance- 
ment to the position of under officer or sergeant, and that he acquire the 

^ Zirkidarverordnung vom 31, August, 1799. Ronne, part i, p. 89 ff. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 31 

information necessary for an artisan. A soldier fitted out with these quali- 
ties will be in his own place a useful servant of the state, and likewise a happy- 
man, if no one seeks to awake in him a striving toward higher things. The 
seed of discontent with one's social station will develop in that degree in 
which one expands further one's scientific training. Only a few men in the 
lower classes are so neglected by Nature that they do not have the ability 
to accomplish more than their social position or calling demands, and to 
raise themselves to some higher position. A too expansive course of in- 
struction will awaken the feeling of such ability in them, through appHca- 
tion of which they would easily be able to gain for themselves a much more 
favorable fate than that of a common soldier. The result is that a superficial 
acquaintance with the sciences generally produces a disinclination toward 
learning a trade. The innumerable proofs of this fact which the larger 
schools furnish have not escaped my notice. I know very well that most 
of the sons of handworkers and artisans, who attend these schools, even if 
they possess only average ability, choose the troubled and uncertain career 
of an half-educated scholar rather than to take over the profitable business 
of their father, into which they could enter with ease, and in which they 
could well use the information acquired in school not only for their own good 
but also for the public welfare. 

Pride, conceit, and disinclination to physical labor are usually the 
sources of all such foolish resolves, which under the same circumstances 
always bring the same results. 

Even if the choice of a future calling open to the soldier is more restricted, 
he must still feel unhappy if the desire (for higher things) is once aroused in 
him and he is unable to satisfy it. 

The teachers of some ''garrison" schools have gone so far in their well- 
intentioned zeal that they wish to expand their course of instruction to in- 
clude the study of countries, even the principles of mathematical geography, 
world history, statistics, international relationships, commerce, and the like. 

This instruction may be so superficial that the greatest part is lost, as 
I have already said, and serves only for ranting in public examinations. It 
will always be better if the boy pass such time in the "industrial" school 
and earn some money, with which he can lighten his parents' burden, and 
increase his own ability in useful handwork. 

Soldiers and under officers will complete their day's marches without 
knowing the latitude and longitude of the locality, and what they learn in 
common life of foreign countries will be a good substitute for the geography 
which is now removed. To what end would one desire to give instruction 



32 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



concerning international relationships to those who, if ordered to mareli* 
would not once dare ask why or where ? What good will it do the soldier, 
who must exist in his future caUing on a small wage acquired by hard labor, 
if one shows him the ways whereby he, as a merchant, would be able to 
secure for himself the luxuries of life by means of easily earned money and 
without any real work? 

The spirit of the age has aroused in all classes of society an unceasing 
effort to raise one's self above one's own social stratum, or at least to extend 
its pretensions higher. I very gladly make allowance for that which one 
must accept as a necessary result of the higher value of things. But the 
evil lies deeper and it must be strenuously combated, if all human rela- 
tionships are not finally destroyed. I will, therefore, see that in all Volks- 
schulcn such instruction be introduced that will instill in the younger genera- 
tion more love and respect for the trade and social position of their parents. 
I hereby make it the duty of all military chiefs not to lose sight of this point 
of view. 

The soldier must be instructed so carefully concerning the claims which 
the state has upon his services, and also concerning his duties and obliga- 
tions, and Hkewise his rights, that his own judgment will lead him to be con- 
tented with his lot and that he will cease as far as possible to look with envy 
and secret hate upon his superiors. 

Whoever has the ability to write a good text-book with this end in view 
can render great service to the future happiness of the soldiers and can be 
assured of my most earnest gratitude. I would desire that the religious 
instruction be included in this text, and that after the discussion of the 
Ten Commandments all civil crimes and their punishments be explained 
briefly and plainly in catechetical form. Such a book would in itself be more 
useful reading for the soldier than all the devotional books and would fully 
supply the lack of all popular magazines and newspapers, in which on every 
page one observes the financial speculations of the publishers more than any 
real advantage to the pubHc, and through which only a hurtful thirst for 
reading is spread among the common people. Since the preparation of 
such a text will demand more time and thought than the compilation of 
any other previous text, I must express the desire that only men of recog- 
nized popularity and practical knowledge of affairs give time to it, and 
thereby bring it about that this text be used not only in the "garrison" 
schools, but also in the town and country schools. 

I have not yet mentioned history, and only wish to remark that it should 
limit itself solely to the most important national events, and have no other 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 33 

purpose than to awaken patriotic love and affection, pride in the deeds of 
our forefathers, and the desire to emulate them. . . . 

As important as the establishment of "garrison" schools is, the benefit 
derived therefrom would be merely partial, if industrial schools were not 
connected with them in which soldiers' children can learn their future trade 
and be enabled by small earnings to compensate their fathers for the time 
the latter must pass in the "garrison" schools. . . . 

Frederick William. 

Charlottenburg, August 31, 1799. 

No passage in the history of the Prussian elementary school 
states so clearly the attitude of Prussian policy toward popular 
education.^ It aids in interpreting the methods and significance 
purposes of elementary education in Prussia and Ger- of this 
many to-day. The common man must have a limited 
amount of knowledge only, and it must be taught him in such 
a way that he can be logically content with his lot in life and 
may not look with envy and hate upon those who have been 
born in higher stations. This passage epitomizes the difference 
between the ideals of Germany and America with reference to 
the common people. 

In spite of the efforts made by the Prussian kings during the 
eighteenth century to improve the elementary schools, 
the conditions were very deplorable at the opening of ^^® Voiks- 
the nineteenth century before the Pestalozzian move- under 
ment had made itself felt in Germany. Superintend- influence 
ent Oldekop, in writing to Secretary Zerrenner of the 
Upper Consistory concerning the condition of the schools, said : ^ 

Every little hamlet had its own school but they were the so-called 
"rotation-schools." Only in the parish towns did one find permanent 
sacristans and teachers and real schoolhouses. In almost all other places 
the school was held in the houses of villagers and the location of the school 
changed every week. One had no other room for the school than the living- 
room of the countryman, in which during school time were to be found 
family, children, and strangers, who carried on their regular occupations. 
^ Schumann, Geschichte des V olksschidwesens in der Altmark, p. 439 ff. 

D 



34 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Whoever had the school in his house fed the teacher. The latter was very 
frequently a cripple incapable of hard work, and generally a tailor. The 
community hired him usually for one winter only and gave him a very 
miserable salary, frequently but three Thalers (monthly), and in addition 
to that treated him with such disrespect and lack of appreciation that the 
shepherd was more honored in the village than he. The demands made, 
however, upon him were just as small. If he could read but poorly, sing 
tKe best-known church hymns, repeat the five articles of the smaller Lutheran 
catechism, and could write, then he possessed all the qualities necessary for 
a good teacher, and more was not required of him. For at that time people 
considered school attendance a minor matter with which one might fill up 
the tiresome hours of winter. No one thought of summer school at all, 
while winter school began on St. Martin's Day and ended at the beginning 
of Lent. The General School Code of 1763 seemed to be almost forgotten, 
at least it was not frequently regarded. So it was in our whole region 
(Brandenburg), and so it remained until 18 16, when a new period in the 
improvement of our local country schools began. 

Schumann, in commenting on the conditions, adds : ^ 

There are plenty of examples where old loafers conducted school week 
about, and where shepherds, who herded flocks in summer, taught the 
youth in winter. . . . Such teachers naturally gave very wretched in- 
struction. After the children had laboriously learned to read by the old 
alphabet method, which took up three or four years' time, they spent a 
large portion of their remaining time in school reading the Catechism, the 
Psalms, and portions of the New Testament. . . . Outside of this work 
the larger part of the time was given up to memorization of the Catechism, 
Psalms, Biblical passages, and church hymns. Since the necessary atten- 
tion and industry for such deadening work was often lacking on the part 
of the pupils, the rod was the magic wand which had to awaken diligence 
and open the doors in the heart and mind of the child for religious training. 

School work usually began at eleven years of age. The pupil was 
required to imitate for years the handwriting of his teacher without learning 
to read what was written. As a rule girls did not learn to write. Arith- 
metic, but only mechanical work according to set rules, was taught in a few 
schools and then only in classes for which a special fee was charged. Only 
church songs were sung, for folk songs were considered vulgar and not t^ 
belong in the school. The singing was largely screaming. 

^ Schumann, p. 440 ff. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 35 

Frederick William III (i 797-1840) and his consort Queen 
Louise had been interested in the Pestalozzian movement since 
the beginning of their reign, but owing to the fearful struggles 
in which Prussia was involved and to the depths of poKtical 
anarchy to which the state had fallen, Httle of good had resulted. 
After the close of the unhappy war of 1806-1807, ^^^ the defeat 
of the Prussian armies, the leading spirits of the nation and the 
real founders of Germany's present greatness insisted upon a 
religious moral regeneration of the German people and a revival 
of the national feeling. The schools, particularly the lower, have 
been responsible for this revival, which has been the most re- 
markable political transformation of the past one hundred years. 
The philosopher Fichte, in his ''Address to the German Nation," 
pointed out that an entirely different system of education was 
the only saving means. He demanded the education of the 
nation as such, the education of all classes, the high and the low, 
a German national education. Fichte emphasized particularly 
love of country — hence the emphasis upon history — and re- 
ligious and moral education — hence the importance of religion 
in the curricula of all schools. In one of his addresses to his 
people he said : 

It (patriotism, love of country) is not the spirit of quiet, civil devotion 
to the old constitution and to the laws, but the consuming flame of that 
higher patriotism, which enfolds the nation as the mantle of the Eternal, 
for which the noble will gladly sacrifice themselves. 

Fichte called attention to the fact that such patriotism was 
rare and that this spirit of sacrifice for the sake of country must 
be instilled in the hearts and mind of the people before Germany 
would take a high place in the councils of the nations. 

In 1809 the Prussian educational authorities decided to send 
several young men to Yverdon to sit under Pestalozzi and to 
learn his methods in order later to reorganize the schools in 
Prussia. Among these students were Marsch, Rendschmidt, 



36 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Braun, Steger, and Patzig, who after their return to Germany 
justified the hopes of the government in every respect. 

Before the return of the young men who were studying with 
Pestalozzi, the Prussian government appointed Zeller, an asso- 
ciate of Pestalozzi, to the position of school superintendent in 
East Prussia. Among the important reforms due to his activity 
was the establishment of a normal school and an orphans' school 
at Konigsberg. Later he established a Protestant normal 
school at Karalene, and a Catholic normal school at Braunsberg. 
The work in East Prussia had to be given up temporarily upon 
the opening of Napoleon's campaign against Russia. 

Remarkable civil changes had taken place since Jena. The 
king, under the influence of Stein, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and 
Hardenberg, granted self-government to the cities and freedom. 
This had an immediate effect upon the schools. In 1811, '^In- 
structions for the formation and management of city school 
deputations" were issued and these instructions form to-day the 
basis of the administration of the schools in cities. Not only 
in the cities but in the country the local boards were given in 
181 2 the right of partial control of school affairs.^ By the par- 
ticipation of local citizens in the control of the schools the 
interest and spirit of self-sacrifice was enormously increased. 

In 181 7 a special ministry for religion, public instruction, and 
medical afifairs was independently established and put on equal 
footing with the other ministries. Freiherr von Altenstein was 
the first minister and held office until his death in 1840. The 
organization of provincial and county school authorities was 
contemporaneous with that of the central authority. (See 

P- 59.) 

Foremost among the teacher trainers in the Pestalozzian 

sense was Wilhelm Harnisch. Trained at the Plamann Pestaloz- 
zian Institute in Berlin, he became director of the normal school 

1 Von Bremen, pp. 517-536 ff. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 37 

in Breslau in 181 2 and later at Weissenfels. The Pestalozzian 
idea had been introduced into Prussia at a time when the main- 
tenance of any sort of public institution was an ex- 
tremely difficult matter. In spite of all the odds ziansin 
against them we find a great number of men, fired with ^ 
the spirit of von Stein and Pestalozzi, establishing normal schools 
and turning out large numbers of well-trained teachers. In 
addition to the names already mentioned some of the more im- 
portant were : Grassmann, director of the normal school in Stet- 
tin ; Moller, director of the normal school in Erfurt ; Diester- 
weg, director of the normal school in Mors, and Vormbaum, 
director of the normal school in Petershagen. Harnisch says : ^ 

All these men and others are to be reckoned among those who con- 
ceived the Volksschulen from a patriotic standpoint, who wished thereby to 
raise the German people, . . . and to furnish the Prussian state new organs 
for its inner life and outward defense. 

They were not merely instructors, they were not mere school- 
masters, they were educators of the people. Among their main 
tendencies were their observation and respect for the cultivation 
of the German tongue from a pedagogical and a patriotic stand- 
point, cultivation of music for the benefit of community life, 
drawing, religion, and physical education. 

The Prussian elementary school system — the Volksschule in 
the present sense of the word — developed rapidly in all the 
provinces of the kingdom. The normal schools founded by the 
Pestalozzians were for the most part responsible for the remark- 
able change in the Volksschulen. In 181 2 there were only seven 
normal schools in Prussia, while in 1840 there were forty-six 
normal schools with almost three thousand young students soon 
to enter the Prussian schools. 

In 1826 regulations were issued for all Prussia to control 
the first and second teachers' examinations, thus putting the 
* Harnisch, Der jetzige Stand punkt, p. 15. 



38 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

minimum requirement for entrance into the profession upon 
a higher plane. These regulations are the basis of 

X CaCXlGx ^ ^ 

Examina- the present scheme of examination described in a 
**°^ later chapter. 

An attempt was made by Suvern and Altenstein in 1819 to 
pass a general law for the organization of all the schools below 
the universities. Their plan was to have the schools arranged 
in three divisions : the general elementary school, the general 
city schools, much like the middle schools of to-day, and the 
Gymnasien. Every class in society was to have its own particu- 
lar school ; each religion was to have" its own schools. In fact 
many of the latter-day forms of organization were proposed, 
but due to the reactionary spirit which had set in, the scheme 
fell through. Even until to-day Prussia has no general school 
law. Each phase of the system is controlled by special regula- 
tions. According to figures collected in 1824,^ the ratio of the 
children in school to the population was one to eight, which in- 
dicates a rather high percentage of attendance. In 1837 over 
eighty per cent of the children in Prussia attended school. How- 
ever, in the eastern provinces the percentage of illiteracy ran as 
high as 41 per cent. In 182 1 ^ there were 21,885 teachers in the 
Volksschulen of Prussia, with an average annual income of 212 
Thalers in the city, and 90 Thalers ^ in the country. 

The supervision of the schools was almost entirely in the 
hands of the clergy. All children of five years of age were com- 
pelled to attend school, but were permitted to attend schools 
of their own confession. Tuition was charged in the Volks- 
schukj amounting to six, nine, or twelve Pfennige weekly.'* 

* Eylert, Charakterziigen . . . aus dem Lehen des Konigs von Preussen, Friedrich 
Wilhelm III, part 3, p. 378. 

2 Beckedorrf's, Jahrbiicher des Preussischen Volksschulwesens, vol. I, part i, 

pp. 72, 75. 

3 A Thaler is three marks or $.75. * Heppe, vol. Ill, pp. 150-155. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 39 

The subjects of instruction were religion, reading, arithmetic, 
and the elements of history, geography, and natural science. 
The school was divided into three sections just as it is to-day. 

Frederick William IV became king of Prussia in 1840. In 
the same year Altenstein died and Eichhorn became Minister. 
At this time a sharp contest was raging between the conservatives 
and the radicals. The king and his minister were fanatically 
conservative, as were also Harnisch, Henning, and Kaweran 
(see p. 36). This party emphasized religion, patriotism, and 
authority. On the other hand the rationalists, whose leader 
was Diesterweg, demanded particularly instruction in subjects 
which serve best to train the understanding and reasoning power ; 
namely, language, arithmetic, geometry, drawing, history, and 
science, while they neglected religion. In 1844 ^ Eichhorn ordered 
a shortening of the course of study in the Volksschule, and more 
time given to religion and to the study of the catechism. He 
held the doctrine that the Volksschule was an institution of the 
church, subordinate to it, working for it and under its supervision. 
The school-teacher according to his opinion was a servant of the 
church; the clergy were the superiors of the school and the 
teacher. 

On the other hand Eichhorn introduced some new features 
into the curriculum of the Volksschule and the normal schools. 
In 1842 he emphasized the value of physical training in all 
schools. In 1845 sewing for girls was put into the schools. 
Since 18 19 no attempt had been made to pass a national school 
law. Each province was allowed to regulate its own school 
affairs so long as nothing was done contrary to the then existent 
statutes. In the province of Prussia a general school law ^ was 
adopted regulating every phase of the external organization of 
the schools — while the internal affairs of the school were left 
entirely in the hands of the administrative county governments. 
* Ronne, part i, p. 649. 2 Von Bremen, p. 36 fif. 



40 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

In order to suppress the rationalist movement the authorities 
passed an order by which not only should teacher's libraries be 
supervised, but even the private books of teachers be inspected 
that any rationalistic literature might be discovered. This 
regulation brought on a great struggle between the central 
authorities and the majority of the teachers. Diesterweg was 
removed from his position as head of the normal school in Berlin 
and sent into retirement. Eichhorn's activities were soon over, 
for when the Revolution of 1848 broke out, he resigned and went 
into private life. 

The new Prussian constitution ^ was issued in 1850. Articles 
20 to 26 of the constitution established some very important 
principles relative to the status of the schools and of the teachers. 

Art. 20. Knowledge and instruction therein is free. 

Art. 21. The state shall make sufficient provision for the training 
of the youth. Parents and their representatives must not leave their 
children or their wards with the instruction, which is prescribed for the 
Volksschulen. 

Art. 22. It is the right of every man to impart instruction and to 
found and conduct institutions of learning, when he has satisfied the 
state authorities concerned as to his moral, scientific, and technical 
fitness. 

Art. 23. All public and private institutions of learning are under 
the supervision of authorities named by the state. The public teachers 
have the rights and duties of servants of the state. 

Art. 24. In the establishment of public Volksschulen confessional 
relationships are to be taken into consideration as far as possible. The 
religious organizations concerned conduct the religious instruction in 
the Volksschule. The administration of the external affairs of the Volks- 
schule is incumbent upon the community. 

The state appoints, with legal participation of the community, the 
teachers of the public Volksschulen from the number of those qualified. 

Art. 25. The means for the establishment, support, and extension 
of the public Volksschulen are raised by the community, and, in case of 
proven inability, supplementarily by the state. . . . The state assures 

^ Lewin, Geschichte der Entwicklung der preussischen V olksschnle^ p. 250. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 41 

the teacher of the Volksschulen a fixed salary, commensurate to the needs 
of the locahty. Instruction is given free in the pubUc Volksschulen. 

Art. 26. A special law will regulate the entire school system. 
[This law has never been issued.] 

In addition to these articles the School Supervision Law ^ of 
1872 places in the hands of the state the supervision of all pubhc 
and private schools. 

1. With the removal of regulations of contradictory nature in the 
various provinces of the country the supervision of all public and private 
institutions of learning devolves upon the state. Accordingly all ofi&cials 
intrusted with this inspection perform their duties in behalf of the state. 

2. The appointment of local and district school inspectors and the 
definition of their inspection district belongs solely to the state. . . . 

3. The participation in school inspection belonging to the communi- 
ties and to their local boards remains unaffected by this law as well as does 
Article 24 of the Constitution of January 31, 1850. 

4. The Minister of Religious, Educational, and Medical Affairs is 
commissioned to execute this law. 

In 1854 a series of regulations, three in all, were issued by the 
minister, who was a leader of the religious-conservative party. 
These regulations dealt with (i) the training of teachers in 
Protestant normal schools; (2) the normal preparatory schools; 
(3) and the one-class elementary school for Protestant children. 
The general tendencies of these regulations will be shown when 
compared with those of 1872, which form the basis of the Volks- 
schule in Prussia to-day. 

In comparison with the salaries received by the teachers 
thirty-five years before, we find that in 1858 the actual conditions 
had improved somewhat. The city teachers received in the 
latter year an average ^ annual income of about 275 Thaler ($206), 
while the rural teachers had an average income of about 200 
Thaler ($150). Of course in addition to this salary the teacher 
had free lodgings and some provisions in the way of fuel and food. 
^ Heinze, Im Amt, pp. 1-2. 2 Diesterweg, Jahrbuch, 1858. 



42 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



We find interesting statistics dealing with the Prussian Volks- 
schulen in the Statistischen Nachrichten iiber das Elementarschul- 
wesen in Preussen filr die Jahre 1862 his 1864. 

There were in 1864, 25,120 pubHc elementary schools with 
38,053 classes, 34,803 male teachers, and 2016 women teachers. 
Sixty-six and two tenths per cent of the schools were Protestant, 
32.6 per cent were Catholic, and i per cent were Jewish. Sixty- 
eight per cent of the children lived in the country and over 
31 per cent in cities. 

In 1864 the population of Prussia was 19,226,270, of whom 
17.9 per cent were children of school age, in actual figures, 
3,457,301. In that year there were but 2,938,679 children in 
public elementary schools, leaving 518,622 children who 
attended private schools, the higher schools, schools for orphans, 
or who were not in school at all. About 15,500 were not 
regularly enrolled. Thirteen per cent of the children spoke 
PoHsh. 

The following table indicates the range of salaries paid. 
In addition to the cash salary received, the city teachers 
had free lodgings and the rural teachers received food and 
fuel. 





Salary 


PosrrioNS 




I. 


50-100 Thalers . . 


1926 


9. 


2. 


100-125 Thalers 


3673 


10. 


3. 


125-150 Thalers . . 


4688 


II. 


4. 


150-180 Thalers 


6536 


12. 


5- 


180-200 Thalers 


37S4 


13. 


6. 


200-250 Thalers 


6197 


14. 


7. 


250-300 Thalers 


. 374S 


15. 


8. 


300-350 Thalers 


2256 


16. 



Salary 

350-400 Thalers 
400-450 Thalers 
450-500 Thalers 
500-550 Thalers 
550-600 Thalers 
600-650 Thalers 
650-700 Thalers 
Over 700 . . 



Positions 

1415 
795 
492 
321 
174 
96 

53 
172 



One receives another view of conditions in Prussia forty-five 
years ago by a comparison of the illiterates among the army 
recruits in 187 1 and in 1906.^ 

^ Zentralblatter, 1873 and 1907. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 43 



Provxnce 



^ . f East Prussia 
Prussia I ^^^^ p^^^^.^ 

Brandenburg . . . 

Pomerania 

Posen 

Silesia 

Saxony 

Schleswig-Holstein . . 

Hannover 

Westphalia . . . , 
Hesse Nassau . . , 
Rhine Province . . , 

Kingdom 



Percentage of Illiteracy 



I87I 


1906 


9.28% 


0.05% 




0.04% 


0.65% 


0.01% 


1.16% 


0.02% 


15-59% 


0.06% 


3.34% 


0.02% 


0.55% 


0.03% 


1871 


1906 


0.72% 


0.00% 


0.40% 


0.01% 


1.33% 


0.01% 


0.53% 


0.05% 


0.80% 


0.00% 



3-42% 



0.02% 



In conclusion of the historical outline we give a translation of 
the General Regulations of 1872, not only because they form the 
basis of the present-day organization of the Volksschulen,^ but 
also because they reflect the educational progress in the nine- 
teenth century up to that date. 

1. The normal types of Volksschulen are (a) the fully graded school, 
(&) the partially graded school, and (c) the ungraded (one-class) school 
with one teacher only, who may divide the pupils to attend half-day 
schools. 

2. In the one-class Volksschule, containing children of the years of 
compulsory age, the pupils are taught in one and the same room by one 
teacher. The number of children must not exceed eighty. The pupils 
of the lower section are to receive twenty hours of instruction a week, 
but thirty hours will be given in the middle and upper sections, includ- 
ing gymnastics for boys and handwork for girls. 

3. Half -day Schools. — Where the number of pupils rises above eighty, 
or where the schoolroom is not sufficiently large for even a less number 
and the appointment of a second teacher is not immediately possible, as 



^ Von Bremen, p. 644 ff. 



44 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

well as where other circumstances make it necessary, the organization of 
half-day schools may be resorted to with the sanction of the authorities. 
There shall be given thirty-two hours' instruction to both classes per 
week, or sixteen to each. 

4. Schools for Two Teachers. — If two teachers are engaged at a school, 
the children are separated into two rooms. If the number of pupils rises 
above 1 20, the opening of a third room is required ; the lowest grade will 
then have twelve hours' instruction per week, the middle twenty-four, 
and the highest twenty-eight hours, 

5. Graded Schools. — In schools of four or more grades the children of 
the lower grades are to receive twenty-two, the middle twenty-eight, and 
the upper grade between thirty and thirty-two hours' instruction per 
week. 

6. Separation of the Sexes in the School. — In graded schools of more 
than four grades it is desirable to separate the children according to sex 
in the upper grades, but in schools of only two teachers the arrangement 
of ascending grades without regard to sex is preferable. 

7. If in any school district several one-class or ungraded schools 
exist, a consoUdation into a central union school is strongly recommended. 

8. Arrangement and Equipment of Schoolrooms. — The schoolrooms 
must be large enough to give each child an area of 0.6 square meter. 
Care should be taken to make the room light and airy, that it have good 
ventilation, give protection against bad weather, and be weU provided 
with window shades. Desks and seats should be in sufficient number, 
and so placed and arranged that all the children in the room may sit 
and work without detriment to their health. The desks should be pro- 
vided with inkwells. To the proper equipment belongs also a sufficient 
number of hooks for cloaks, coats, and caps, etc. ; also a blackboard on 
an easel, a waU blackboard, a platform with desk that may be locked, a 
cupboard for storing books, copy books, crayon, sponge, etc. 

9. Necessary AppliatKes. — For complete instruction there are re- 
quired : (i) A copy of each text-book and exercise book introduced in the 
school (for the teacher's desk) ; (2) a globe ; (3) a wall map of the home 
province or state ; (4) a wall map of Germany ; (5) a wall map of Pales- 
tine ; (6) some pictorial representations of geographical scenery ; (7) al- 
phabets in large, bold type pasted on wood slides or pasteboard for use 
in the primer class ; (8) a violin ; (9) large ruler and compasses for use 
on blackboards; (10) an abacus. In Protestant schools there is to be 
added (11) a Bible and (12) a copy of the hymnal used in the parish church. 



DEVELOPIMENT OF THE PRUSSUN VOLKSSCHULE 45 

V 

For schools of more than one grade these appliances are to be multiplied 
adequately. 

10. Lists and Registers. — The teacher is required to keep the follow- 
ing books and registers: (i) a book devoted to school chronicles; (2) a 
list of pupils, their addresses, etc. ; (3) a book of progress, showing the 
subject-matter taught each day ; and (4) a list of attendance, punctuality, 
etc. The teacher is further required to have at hand always the course 
of study prescribed, a time-table, and the distribution of subject-matter 
of instruction for each term. 

11. Text-books afid Exercise Books. — The appliances required of 
the pupil in ungraded schools or schools of two teachers are : (a) books, 
to wit, a primer or a reader, a book of problems for arithmetic, a song 
book, and the books required for instruction in religion ; (6) exercise 
books, to wit, a diary, a copy book for penmanship, a blank book for 
spelling and composition, a drawing book in the upper grades ; (c) other 
appliances, to wit, a slate with pencQ and sponge, a ruler, and com- 
passes. 

Pupils of graded schools may be required to provide themselves with 
brief guides for nature study and other realistic branches, also with a 
copy of the reader arranged for ascending grades, as well as with an atlas. 
For each separate study an exercise book is to be procured. 

12. Grading of the People's School. — The school, even the one-class 
school, is divided into three sections or grades in accordance with the 
age of the pupils and their degree of progress. In a school of four classes 
the middle section is represented by two classes. In schools of six classes 
each section has two classes. 

13. Subjects of Study in the People's School. — The subjects to be 
taught are: Religion, German language (speaking, reading, writing), 
arithmetic and the elements of geometry, drawing, history, geog- 
raphy, nature study, gjnnnastics for the boys, female handwork for the 
girls. 



46 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



The hours of instruction in ungraded schools for the separate 
subjects are as follows : 



Religion 

German language ^ 

Arithmetic, geometry .... 

Drawing 

Realistic Studies ^ 

Singing 

Gymnastics — Female Handwork 

Total 



Lower Section 



Hours 



4 
II 

4 



20 



Middle Section 



Hours 



5 

lO 

4 

I 
6 

2 
2 



30 



Upper Section 



Hours 



30 



In the graded schools, the distribution is as follows : 



Religion 

German language ^ . . . . 

Arithmetic 

Geometry 

Drawing 

Realistic studies 

Singing ^ 

Gymnastics, Girls' Handwork 
Total 



Lower Section 



Hours 



4 
II 

4 



22 



Middle Section 



Hours 



28 



Upper Section 



Hours 



4 
8 

4 
2 

6(8) 

2 
2 



30 (32) 



In half-day schools and in schools of two teachers with three 
grades, changes in the foregoing time-table may be made in 
accordance with local circumstances. 

^ German language includes reading, writing, spelling, grammar, composition, 
and literature. 

2 Realistic studies include geography, history, elements of natural history, and 
natural science. 



I 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 47 

Note. — Paragraphs 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 refer to matter 
and method of religious instruction. The subject is divided into sacred 
history, Bible reading, church calendar, catechism, hymns and prayers. 
Then follow the rules governing the other branches of study. 

22. German Language. — Instruction in German includes all exercises 
in speaking, reading, and writing. The latter includes penmanship, 
spelling, grammar, composition, and literature. These subjects must 
in all grades remain in organic connection {i.e. be correlated) and as 
far as is possible progress in uniform steps. 

23. Practice in Oral Expression. — Practice in oral expression requires 
no separate instruction. It prepares the way for instruction in writing 
and reading, and accompanies it in its further development. 

The simplest and best-known objects form the material in the lower 
division, the pictures in the middle, and the reading book in the upper 
division. ^^^ 

Its fo^^^Bm is, in gradual progression, to enable the pupil to pro- 
nounce jpPfftly and clearly each single word and to give free expression 
to hi^houghts in a simple sentence, the power of sure and correct ex- 
preJBlfen compound sentences, avoiding the most common mistakes in 
forms of words and formation of sentences, and lastly, the ability to re- 
produce freely and correctly imparted knowledge and to arrange and 
clearly state his own thoughts. 

24. Instruction in Writing and Reading. — Instruction in writing and 
reading is to be according to the method in use in the normal school 
in the district. The spelling method of learning the letters is for- 
bidden. 

The aim is, in the lower division, to enable the children to read cor- 
rectly connected reading pieces and not only to copy, but also to write for 
themselves short sentences ; in the middle division, to read whole reading 
pieces, in prose and verse, in Latin and German characters, without 
stumbling and intelligently, to write correctly a simple dictation, and to 
reproduce unaided a reading piece of simple form and content. In the 
upper division the pupils are to be led to read at sight easily and with 
expression more difficult reading pieces, of which the content is not too 
remote from the circle of their ideas, to write dictations of this kind with- 
out a mistake, and to reproduce correctly longer reading selections. 

Special hours are to be assigned for penmanship in the middle and 
upper divisions of a school with one or two teachers and in the middle 
classes of larger schools ; in the upper classes of such schools it can take 



48 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the form of home work. The aim of the instruction is the acquirement 
of a neat, clear, graceful handwriting in all work, even to that quickly 
written. 

The results of a good instruction should be plainly visible in the pupils* 
notebooks. 

To be recommended as context of the copies are popular proverbs and 
good and appropriate samples of business letters and forms. 

25. Instruction in German Grammar. — In the upper classes of schools 
with several classes special hours are assigned to instruction and practice 
in German grammar ; in the schools with one or two teachers it is com- 
bined with the rest of the language instruction. 

The aim of the instruction for the middle grades is a knowledge of the 
simple sentence and the simplest rules of etymology ; for the upper divi- 
sion, the compound sentence and more thorough instruction in accidence 
and formation of words. ^^^ 

26. The Reading Book. — The groundwork of all in^Hjdon in Ger- 
man is the reading book. Where possible, the whole booHBI^be worked 
through. The reading book is not only to further the attainment of 
skill in reading, but also to lead to the understanding of the coMbnts of 
the piece. The pieces are so to be selected that about thirty are treated 
in a year. 

Suitable poetical pieces (in small schools particularly the texts of 
songs) are to be committed to memory in all three divisions after they 
have been commented on. 

In the upper classes of larger schools the reading book is to be used 
to give the children examples of the chief works of patriotic (popular) 
poetry, and some information about the national poets, but only those 
since the Reformation. 

The selection of the reading book to be introduced is to be made from 
those which have a popular character and which by the whole of their 
contents promote the educative purpose of the school. And among these 
those deserve the preference which are correct in form, and in the historical 
and scientific selections are not the original productions of the editors, 
but specimens from the best popular works of the great writers in those 
branches and which are free from all political and religious bias. For 
schools attended by children of different denominations, as far as pos- 
sible, only those reading books are to be chosen which have really no 
denominational character. In books already in use the pieces denomina- 
tional in character are to be assigned to the religious instruction. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 49 

27. Language Instruction in Schools Attended by Children of Different 
Nationalities. — With regard to the schools in which the children, or 
some of them, speak another language than German, the special regula- 
tions issued in the past or to be issued in the future are to be put in force. 

28. Instruction in Arithmetic. — In the lower divisions operations 
with concrete and abstract numbers between one and one hundred are 
learned and practiced ; in the middle division, the same operations with 
unlimited numbers, also problems in averages, reduction, and the simple 
rule of three; the arithmetic for the upper division includes fractions 
(for which suitable preparation must be made in the other divisions), 
their application to calculations of everyday life, and a thorough treat- 
ment of decimal fractions. 

In the larger schools this amount is extended in these everyday cal- 
culations to problems of a harder kind, in decimals to the extraction of 
square root. 

In the lower division, in schools with only one or two teachers, as far 
as possible, in other schools regularly, all calculations are to be done 
mentally. At the beginning of a new rule in all divisions, mental cal- 
culations precede those on the board. In practical applications the 
relation to everyday life is always to be kept in view; consequently 
examples with large and many-figured numbers are to be avoided, and 
the problems made to correspond to the actual conditions of things. 

By means of these problems the pupils are to be made acquainted 
with the existing system of weights, measures, and coinage. 

Arithmetic is to be regarded in all divisions as practice in clear think- 
ing and correct speaking. Still, the ultimate aim is to enable the pupils 
to solve unaided, surely and quickly, the problems set them. 

In all schools the instruction is to be based on a collection of examples 
for the pupil, to which the teacher has the key. 

29. Instruction in Geometry. — The set portion of geometry includes 
the line (straight, equal, unequal, parallel), the angle and its kinds, tri- 
angles, quadrilateral, regular figures, the circle and its aiding lines, and 
the regular solids. 

In larger schools lines and angles are more fully treated, and, in addi- 
tion, the equality and similiarity of figures in elementary treatment. 

Instruction in geometry is to be connected with both arithmetic and 
drawing. While in the latter the pupils learn to correctly observe and 
represent the forms of lines, surfaces, and solids, in the former they learn 
to operate certainly and intelligently with their measurements, to cal- 



50 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

culate the length of lines, the extent of surfaces, and the volume of 
solids. 

30. Drawing. — In instruction in drawing all children are to be 
occupied simultaneously and similarly, and by constant practice of 
hand and eye are to be so trained that they are able, with the help of 
ruler, scale, and compasses, to copy pattern figures on a given reduced 
or magnified scale and to represent geometrical views of objects of simple 
shape on a given scale, — i.e. the furniture of the room, garden surfaces, 
houses, churches, and other soHds which present straight edges and large 
surfaces. 

Where this end is attained, specially gifted children may be set to 
draw from copies. 

A special regulation is issued as to drawing in larger schools. 

31. Instruction in Realien.^ — In the instruction in the Realien the 
reading book is to be used to give life, completeness, and repetition in 
the material which the teacher, after careful preparation, presents orally 
and through direct observation. In larger schools special text-books 
may be used as well. No use is to be made of dictations; forbidden, 
too, is the purely mechanical committal to memory of dates, lists of kings 
and queens, names of countries and towns, numbers of inhabitants, 
names and characteristics of plants, numbers of size and relations in 
natural science. In geography and nature study the instruction begins 
with observation, which in geography is attained by means of the globe 
and map; in the descriptive sciences, by samples of the objects to be 
discussed or by good illustrations; in natural science (physics), at least 
in the larger schools, by experiment. 

Throughout, even in larger schools, the material is to be gradually 
extended, proceeding from the easier to the more difiicult, from the 
nearer to the remote. 

32. History. — From the earHer German history, and from the earlier 
history of Brandenburg, certain biographies are to be selected ; from the 
time of the Thirty Years' War and the Great Elector the chain of such 
biographies is to be continued unbroken. So far as the children are able 
to grasp it, the chief features of the progress in civilization are also to 
be dealt with. 

The fullness and the number of the biographies is determined by the 

^ By Realien are meant the branches which convey knowledge of real 
things — actual knowledge, not merely the form of knowledge. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 51 

character of the school and the amount of time devoted to this branch 
of the instruction. 

^^. Geography. — Geographical instruction is to begin with the sur- 
roundings of the home and school; it then deals with Germany, and 
with the outlines of general geography ; shape and motion of the earth, 
causes of day and night and of the seasons, the zones, the five oceans, the 
five continents, the chief states and cities of the world, the greatest 
mountains and rivers. 

The quantity of the matter will be determined by the character of 
the school ; but in working out a course of studies it is better to limit 
the extent than to sacrifice the clearness of the instruction and to allow 
it to degenerate into a mere list of names. 

34. Objqft Lessons in Natural History, Botany, etc. — This branch of 
the instruction includes, besides a description of the structure and life of the 
human body, that of the native rocks, plants and animals, and of foreign 
ones, the chief beasts of prey, animals and plants of the East, those culti- 
vated plants of which the products are in daily use in our country (cotton 
plant, tea plant, coffee tree, sugar cane). Of native objects, those are to 
be made particularly prominent which arouse special interest (i) through 
the services which they render to men {e.g. domestic animals, birds, 
silkworm, corn, spinning plants, fruit trees, salt, coal) ; (2) through the 
harm which they do to men (poisonous plants) ; (3) through the pecul- 
iarity of their life or way of living {e.g. butterflies, trichinae, tapeworm, 
bee, ant). 

In larger schools such objects may not only be increased in number, 
but also systematically arranged and more exhaustively treated as to 
their use in industry. Everywhere the aim of the instruction should be 
to accustom children to an attentive observation and to bring them up 
to a thoughtful consideration of nature. 

35. Natural Science. — In this instruction in a school with only one 
or two teachers the children are to be led to an approximate understand- 
ing of those phenomena which daily surround them. 

In larger schools this instruction is to be extended to include the most 
important principles of the equilibrium and movement of bodies, of 
sound, light, heat, magnetism, and electricity, so that the children are 
able to explain the commoner natural phenomena and the most frequently 
used machines. 

36. Singing. — Hymns are to be practiced alternately with popular 
songs. The aim should be to secure that each child can sing not only in 



52 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

chorus, but also alone correctly and surely, and that when he leaves the 
school he takes with him a sujBicient number of hymns and songs (the 
words of the latter to be perfectly known by heart) as a lasting posses- 
sion. 

37. Gymnastics. — This instruction is given in the middle and upper 
divisions two hours a week, according to the regulation of October 8, 
1868. It is desirable that a preliminary course should be instituted in 
the lower division. 

38. Needlework. — Needlework should be practiced, where possible, 
from the middle division upward two hours a week. 

The General Regulations of 1872 have reference to all the 
Volksschulen, not merely to the Protestant ; the Regulations of 

1854 concerned themselves with the ungraded school 
of^the^^°° alone, while those of 1872 considered all types of 
Regulations Volksschulen. The General Regulations recognized a 
and 1872 division into three sections even in the ungraded 

school, while the Regulations of 1854 did not. The 
General Regulations gave definite instructions concerning school 
equipment, material, and the like. The Regulations of 1854 did 
not set out the aims of the Volksschule clearly as did those of 
1872. The General Regulations condemn pure mechanical 
memorization of material; the Regulations of 1854 demanded a 
great deal of memorization of religious subject matter. The 
amount of material in religion was limited by the General Regu- 
lations. The sciences, history, and geography come into their 
own again under the new regulations. And finally the General 
Regulations emphasized the importance of a national (German) 
education. 

It will be unnecessary to trace further the development of 
the legal status of the Volksschule. We have endeavored to 
show the nationalistic tendency of the Volksschule, that it has 
been the chief means of unification of German thought and feel- 
ing, that subjects and methods of instruction have all been 
pointed toward a more intense patriotism and national unity. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE 53 

The present Emperor/ in order to combat socialistic principles 
rampant in Germany, issued the following order; which is, in 
part: 

The history of the Fatherland and particularly the history of social 
economic legislation and development since the beginning of this (19th) 
century down to the present social-political legislation, is to be so treated 
as to show how the Prussian monarchs have always considered their 
special mission ... to further the physical and spiritual welfare of their 
people. 

It will not be necessary to treat here the legal development of 
the Prussian Volksschule because the more important newer 
laws and regulations have been cited in the chapters dealing 
with the organization of schools, methods, training and payment 
of teachers, and other topics having to do with the Volksschulen, 

^ Lewin, p. 380. Zentralblatt, May, 1889. 



CHAPTER II 

ADMmiSTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 

Composition of the Prussian State 
Kingdom 
Province 
Administrative County 

(Regierungsbezirk) 
District — j City District (Stadtkreis) 

(Kreis) \ County District {Landkreis) 
Ofl&cial District 

{Amtshezirk) 
Community 

{Gemeinde) 
(i) City (Stadtische Gemeinde) 

(2) Village or town {Landliche Gemeinde) 

(3) Manor (Gutsbezirk) 

The above outline shows the administrative divisions of the 
Prussian kingdom. The whole kingdom is composed of twelve 
provinces, the city of Berlin, and the principaHty of Sigmaringen. 
Each province is subdivided into administrative counties 
(Regierungsbezirke) , usually three or four counties in each prov- 
ince. There are thirty-six such counties in the entire kingdom. 
The head of the provincial government is the first president of 
of the province (Oberprdsident), while the highest official in the 
administrative county is county president {Regienmgsprdsident). 

Each administrative county is divided into districts {Kreise)^ 
either city districts {Stadtkreise) or country districts {Land- 
kreise), the mayor and the council being the chief administrative 
authority in a city district, and the chief magistrate of the dis- 
trict (Landrat) being the head of a country district. In a coun- 

54 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 55 

try district we find a further subdivision — the official district 
or jurisdiction (Amtsbezirk) , the administrative officer of which 
is the district supervisor (Amtsvorsteher) . This unit of adminis- 
tration has nothing to do with the schools except in matters of 
compulsory attendance. 

A city district is generally a large city with a few suburbs. 
It is also at the same time a community. A country district is 
composed of several communities, which are small cities, villages, 
and manors. A glance at the diagram on page 54 will make 
the matter clear. 

This brief resume of the political organization of Prussia is 
given in order to make the explanation of the administration of 
the Volksschulen a little more clear, because for almost every 
governmental unit there is a corresponding school authority. 
The following diagram (page 56) will aid in reading the text 
dealing with the administration of the schools. 

The Ministry for Religious and Educational Affairs {Mi- 
nisterium filr geistlichen-und-Unterrichtsangelegenheiten) is the 
highest administrative authority of the Prussian 

... .... Ministry 

school system. This ministry had its origin in 1787 
in the Oherschiilkollegium, which was dissolved in the reorgani- 
zation of the Prussian state after the Peace of Tilsit. In 18 10 
{Verordnung of October 27, 18 10, Von Bremen, p. 45) a special 
bureau for ecclesiastical affairs and public instruction was cre- 
ated under the Ministry of the Interior and all institutions of 
culture and learning were assigned to this bureau. In 181 7, 
however, Frederick William III removed this department from 
the control of the Ministry of the Interior, and created a new 
portfolio, known as the Ministry for Religious, Educational, 
and Medical Affairs {Ministerium filr geistlichen-Unterrichts- 
und-Medizinalangelegenheiten) . The ministry was known by 
this name until 1911,^ when the section controlling medical 

^ Zentralblatty 191 1, p. 301 ff. 



56 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Diagram of Supervisory Officers in Prussian Elementary Schools 

King ] 



Minister 



Under State 



Secretary 



General Director of Bureaus 



Dire c tor of Bure a u 
for 
Higher School 3 



Director of Bureau for 
Lower and Middle Schools 



Councilors 



Councilors 



Provincial' 
School 
Board 








Seconda/j/ 
Schools 


Examination 
Commission 






1 




Normal 
Sch ools 



Administrative Countg 

Bureau for Lower, Middle 

andfrivate Schools 



Couniij Superintendents 



District 



District Lnspector 



LocalSchool 
Board 



C° 



^t 



0. 



Communitg 




Local Lnspectari?) CiiySupmntendmtorhupector 



Principal 



1^ 



Scho 
Commission 



Principal 



Director of Bureau 
for Churches 



Assistants 



dig School 
Deputation 



> 



Teacher. School Teacher. School 



School Commission. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 57 

affairs was withdrawn and the ministry is now the Ministerium 
fur geistlichen und Unterrichtsangelegenheiten. 

The ministry regulates the school system and church affairs 
for the whole kingdom, issues regulations, prepares laws, and 
receives reports and statistics dealing with school 
affairs. It has the deciding voice in all questions Work of the 
which concern the schools, if such questions cannot ""^ ^ 
be settled by some lower authority. 

The Minister as the educational head is responsible to the 
king and to the lower legislative house in Prussia. The occu- 
pant of this office may or may not be a school man, j^^^^g ^j 
for the office is political in character. Among the the 
duties of the Minister, although in reaHty the work 
is done by secretaries, are the following: determination of the 
outward form of the schools ; making .of courses of study and 
curricula; examinations for higher schools; final approval 
of text-books; appointment of normal school teachers, prin- 
cipals and teachers of preparatory schools for normal training 
schools {Prdparandenanstalten) , and district school inspectors; 
reappointment of discharged teachers or teachers who have 
been suspended; appointment of foreign exchange teachers; 
and the approval of extraordinarily long leaves of absence. 

Next to the Minister is an under state secretary. Below this 
secretary are the directors of the various bureaus of the ministry 
and in these bureaus are a number of assistant sec- ^nder 

retaries (Vortragende Rate), whose duty it is to sub- state Secre- 

1 . . IT IT t*^y ^^^ 

mit to the mmister or the directors reports dealmg Assistant 

with the special fields assigned to them. From Secretanes 
time to time the Vortragende Rate visit the schools, but these 
visits are restricted largely to the higher schools. 

The ministry has three bureaus ; namely, a bureau for ecclesi- 
astical affairs, one for higher schools, and one for the lower 
school system. To the bureau for higher schools are assigned 



S8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the affairs of the higher schools, the universities, higher techni- 
cal schools, and institutions for fine and industrial arts. To 
Ministerial the bureau for lower schools belong the Volksschulen, 
Bureaus ^]^g middle schools, normal schools, normal prepara- 
tory schools, institutions for the blind, deaf, and dumb, and 
matters having to do with physical training. The technical 
school system, with the exception of those mentioned above, 
and the continuation schools, is in the hands of the minister 
of commerce and industry. (Erlass von j. Sept. 1884, Gesetz- 
sammlung, 1885, p. 95.) 

Note. — Since the establishment of a separate ministry of education 
in Prussia there have been fifteen different ministers including the present 
one: Freiherr von Altenstein, 1817-1840; Eichhorn, 1840-1848 ; Graf 
Schwerin, 1848 ; von Ladenberg, 1848-1850; von Raumer, 1850-1858 ; 
von Bethmann-Hollweg, 1858-1862 ; von Miihler, 1862-1872 ; Dr. Falk, 
1872-1879; von Puttkammer, 1879-1881 ; von Gossler, 1881-1891 ; Graf 
Zedhtz-Trutzschler, 1891-1892 ; Dr. Bosse, 1892-1899; Dr. Studt, 1899- 
1907 ; HoUe, 1907-1909 ; Trott zu Solz, 1909-1917. 

The special bureau for the lower schools was created in 1882. The 
directors of this bureau since then have been De la Croix, 1882-1889; 
Dr. Kugler, 1889-1892 ; Dr. Schwartzkopff, 1892-1909 ; Von Bremen, 
1909-1917. 

The Prussian kingdom is divided into twelve provinces with 
their capitals at Konigsberg, Danzig, Posen, Breslau, Stettin, 
Provincial ^^^Kn, Magdeburg, Schleswig, Hannover, Miinster, 
School Cassel, and Coblenz. In each province there is a 

Provincial School Board (ProvinzialschulkoUegium) , 
which has its offices in the provincial capital. The presiding 
officer of the Provinzialschulkollegium is the president of the 
province (Oberprdsident) and is not a school man. He names 
the members of the examination commissions for rectors of 
Volksschulen, and middle school teachers, interprets salary and 
pension laws, and at the direction of the Minister decides cases 
deaHng with compulsory pensioning of elementary teachers. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 59 

The Provincial School Board is an outgrowth of the Provin- 
zialkonsistorium, at first having been a part of the consistory, 
but finally in 1845 separating entirely from it. Instructions 
issued in 181 7 and in 1825 concerning the duties of the provincial 
consistories still hold good in the main for the provincial school 
boards. 

The Provincial School Board consists of seven or eight mem- 
bers, although sometimes more. The members are : the presi- 
dent, who is always president of the province; the 

... , -irij Duties of 

director, who is sometimes the president 01 the ad- the Provin- 
ministrative county {Regierungsbezirk, see p. 60) in 3^^^^°°^ 
which the board sits, while at other times there may 
be another state official or a school man ; and six or more mem- 
bers. Among the members (not including the president or 
director) one finds three or more provincial school superintend- 
ents (Provinzialschulrate) , and several secretaries of the ad- 
ministrative districts, who have also the duties of school super- 
intendent for their respective districts.^ These six members 
are all school men. There is another member, the attorney 
for the board, who is not a school man. Each member has his 
own particular duties to perform. Inspection of the schools 
under the control of the board is given over to the provincial 
school superintendents (Provinzialschulrdte) . These superin- 
tendents are always school men, and, as a rule, have been directors 
of some form of secondary schools. Decisions are made by the 
board as a whole and are never left to a single member. Papers 
and letters coming to the board are recorded by number in a 
journal, and their disposal is also noted in the same book. If 
such documents are reports which are intended only for the 
authorities, then they simply go into the records, but in all 
other cases a written answer is given. This answer is copied 

^ This latter group of members have the title of Regierungs- und Schidrat. See 
p. 61. 



6o PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

and filed, while the original is signed by the office and sent out. 
All records are carefully arranged and preserved in the registrar's 
office. 

The Provincial School Board has control of the higher schools 
(Gymnasien, Realgymnasien, Oberrealschulen, und hohere Mdd- 
chenschulen) , normal schools, normal preparatory schools, 
and the examination commissions for these schools. Likewise 
the institutions for the deaf, dumb, and blind are under the 
supervision of this board. New courses of study and material 
can be introduced only with its consent. 

In Prussia there are higher schools which are supported entirely 
by the state, others which are maintained by the cities, and still 
others founded by the cities, but aided by the state. The Pro- 
vincial School Board controls all the affairs, both financial and 
educational, of the first type of school. In the second type 
the financial matters are controlled and the teachers are ap- 
pointed by the city from the official hsts. Such appointments, 
however, must be approved by the Provincial School Boards. 
In schools supported entirely by the state there is no inter- 
mediary officer between the director of the school and the Board. 

This is, briefly, the form of the Provincial School Board. It 
has little or nothing to do with the elementary schools, except 
that the normal schools which prepare teachers for the Volks- 
schiden are under its supervision. 

Each province of the Prussian kingdom is divided for admin- 
istrative purposes into administrative counties (Regierungs- 
Adminis- bezirke). Such units correspond in a way to our 
trative counties, but the comparison is not very close. The 

county is the unit of administration for the lower 
schools in the province, each province being divided into several 
administrative counties. For example, the province of Pom- 
erania is divided into three counties; namely, Stettin, Koslin, 
and Stralsund. The county government has usually three 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 6i 

bureaus: a bureau for the administration of internal affairs 
(Prasidial A Ueilung) ; a bureau for churches and schools {A h- 
teilung fiir Kirchen- und Schulwesen) ; and a bureau for taxes, 
lands and forests (Abteihmg fur Steiiern, Domanen, und Fdrsten). 
The bureau for churches and schools has control of the Volks- 
schulen, the middle schools, and the private schools.^ It is com- 
posed of seven or eight members, some of them being adminis- 
trative officials, and others being school men, each with the 
title of Regierungs- und Schulrat, county superintendent for 
schools. It is the duty of these superintendents to visit the 
schools and exercise general supervision over them. 

Instructions issued in 1817 and in 1825 concerning ^^^^^^^^ 
the powers and duties of the administrative county the County 
in school matters hold good to-day, although some ment"^' 
slight changes have been made and its duties have 
been somewhat increased by more recent laws. These duties are 
in part as follows : 

1. Approval of appointment of teachers in the elementary schools 
which have been made by municipalities, school deputations, or any 
other lower authority .2 

2. Granting leaves of absence to the extent of six months or more. 

3. General supervision of public school property, and also the property 
of private foundations. 

4. Supervision of official acts of teachers ; also the conduct of teachers 
outside of school hours. 

5. Supervision and administration of the whole elementary school 
system, including the middle and private schools. 

6. Supervision of all financial affairs of institutions under its control. 

7. Visitation of local school authorities and inspection of their offices ; 
likewise the county superintendents {Regierungsschulrate) must visit 
the school assigned to them and make reports thereon. Such visits, of 
course, cannot be very frequent in a single school, owing to the large 
number of institutions assigned to the supervision of one man. 

1 In Berlin the lower schools are under the supervision of the Provincial School 
Board of the province of Brandenburg. 

2 See p. 171 for the method of appointment of teachers. 



62 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

8. Introduction of new text-books and courses of study. 

9. Determination of vacations. 

10. Instructions to principals and head teachers. 

11. Approval of any fundamental changes in the organization of the 
school systems under its control. 

12. Introduction or changes in salary schedules.^ 

In short, the county government is the representative of the 
royal ministry in the several administrative counties, the bureau 
for churches and schools being responsible to the Berlin author- 
ities when the lower school system is concerned. Under the 
administrative county {Regiertmg) are the following authorities : 

I. Each administrative county {Regierungshezirk) is divided 
into a number of smaller districts, each of which is known as a 
Kreis. These Kreise, when referred to as a part of the school 
system, are called school inspection districts {Schulaufsichts- 
bezirke), and the term will be used in this sense. An admin- 
istrative county is generally divided into twelve inspection 
districts (Kreise). These districts are separated into two groups 
and each group is placed under the general supervision of a 
county school superintendent {Regierungs- und Schulrat). For 
example, the administrative county Koslin, in the province 
of Pomerania, is divided into twelve districts {Kreise). The 
districts Koslin, Colberg, Stolp, Lauenberg, Shaue, and Rummels- 
burg are under one county school superintendent {Regierungs- 
schulrat), while the other six districts of the county are under 
another superintendent.^ The real inspection of the schools 
is in the hands of the "district school inspector" {Kreisschul- 
inspektor). This inspector must be carefully distinguished 
from the Regierungsschulrat or county school superintendent. 
The latter has the general supervision of several school inspec- 
tion districts {Kreise), while the former has the administration 

1 Von Bremen, Das Schidiinterhaltungsgesetz, p. 139. 

2 See p. 56 for the diagram for school supervision. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 63 

and inspection in one or part of one inspection district. There 
are two types of inspection districts, the country inspection 
district {Landkreis) and the city inspection district {Stadtkreis) . 
In a city inspection district there is more than one district school 
inspector, since as a rule such an inspection district is further 
subdivided into smaller inspection units, each of which has its 
own district school inspector (Kreisschulinspektor). To make 
the matter perfectly clear, let us take an example. In the 
province of Pomerania, administrative county of Koslin 
(Regierungsbezirk) , in the inspection district Koslin {Kreis) 
there are five inspection units, Koslin I, Koslin II, Koslin III, 
Koslin IV, Koslin V, each of which stands under the super- 
vision of a district school inspector {Kreisschulinspektor) . In each 
inspection unit within a district, if the latter be subdivided at all, 
there are a number of estates, villages, towns, and perhaps a city. 
The district school inspector is the superior of local school 
boards, school deputations, local inspectors, principals of schools, 
and teachers within the district, or that part of it 
assigned to him. He exercises supervision over the of the 
teaching personnel and school attendance ; appoints ^''^'^^J^^"'- 
teachers to fill unexpected vacancies ; grants to 
teachers within his district leaves of absence for anything less 
than fifteen days ; may inflict fines up to nine marks ; and 
may warn teachers who in any way neglect their duties. He 
must make a report to the Regierung of his visits to the schools. 
It is his further duty to see that the laws and orders issued by 
the higher authorities are carried out. The inspector is also 
required to visit and inspect the schools of his district, to keep 
the schools supplied with materials so far as he can do so in 
accordance with the existing regulations, and where this is not 
possible he makes recommendations to or requisitions upon the 
higher authorities. Among the special duties of the district 
school inspector are the following : 



I 



64 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

1. The technical direction and inspection of the work in the 
schools. M I 

2. The final fixation of courses of study and schedules. 

3. The holding of conferences with teachers and principals. 

4. The holding of school examinations.^ 

Note. — The following are the instructions for the KreisschuUnspektor 
in the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg. (Sachse: p. 5. Verordnungen betreffend 
das Schulwesen im Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg, 19 10.) 

Instructions ^' ^^^ district school inspector exercises the school 

for District supervision of his district. . . . 

School In- 2. The official activity of the inspector covers all public 

and private schools or institutions of learning, which come 

under the authority of the county. 

3. The duty of the inspector consists not only of the inspection and 
care of the schools placed under his charge, but also of the supervision 
and support of teachers in such schools. He is permitted to grant leaves 
of absence up to two weeks in cases of necessity. . . . 

4. Above all it is his duty to work actively for the betterment of the 
schools hand in hand with the local school boards whose next superior 
he is in the internal affairs of the school. 

5. For this purpose he, in company with the local board, must in- 
spect each school of his district at least once a year and conduct a thorough 
examination of its work. 

6. His supervision covers the whole field of instruction and education 
in the school, especially with reference to the conduct, attitude, abUity, 
and results of the teacher, to the general and special methods employed, 
to the carrying out of the prescribed course of study and schedules, to 
school materials, to the position and progress of each class and section, 
to the behavior and discipline of pupils, and to school attendance; in 
short, he must give attention to the regard paid to all regulations per- 
taining to the elementary schools. 

7. The inspector must also take note of the external affairs of the 
school, the building and its equipment, and the dwelling and salary of 
the teacher, although such externals lie under the supervision of the chief 
magistrate of the district (Landrat), or other civil authorities. 

1 Dritte Anweisung zur Ausfuhrung des Schtdunterhaltungsgesetz vom 28 Jtdi, igod, 
(p. S. p. 335), and Zentralblatt, 1907, p. 128. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 65 

8. By means of instruction and advice he must immediately take 
steps to correct the errors and deficiencies which he has noted. In 
suitable cases he must call the attention of the local school board thereto. 
It is also his duty to remove as quickly as possible all difficulties which 
may exist among teachers, school boards, and other parties, and, if 
necessary, to make a report of the matter. 

9. The inspector must also see that the religious instruction is im- 
parted according to plan and is required to make note of the content of 
such instruction. 

10. It is his duty to appeal to the chief magistrate of the district for 
interference in cases where he (the inspector) has not been able to elimi- 
nate irregularities by communication with the local authorities. This 
applies especially to irregularities in school attendance. 

11. Before the first of November every year the inspector must make 
a report upon the condition of the schools in his district. . . . 

12. The inspector is required to advance the further practical and 
theoretical training of his teachers. He organizes and conducts teachers' 
meetings, and supervises teachers' libraries and reading circles. . . . 

13. It is his especial duty to concern himself with the normal pre- 
paratory schools of his district, in so far as this supervision is not other- 
wise provided for. . . . 

14. He supervises teaching candidates before their appointment, gives 
notices of vacancies, makes proposals as to appointments, and must look 
out for supply teachers in cases of temporary suspension of school work. 

15. He forwards to the administrative bureau proposals, requests, and 
reports of teachers and school boards, which he himself cannot dispose 
of. . . . 

16. The inspector must keep a journal for all incoming documents 
and must make a record of their contents, date, and disposal. In ad- 
dition he keeps a general record, a special record for each school, a per- 
sonal record for each teacher, a record of teaching candidates, and a 
record of pupils in the normal preparatory schools. 

With reference to the external affairs of the school, the in- 
spector goes to the chief magistrate {Landrat) of the district. 
(See page 67.) The local school inspectors are under the super- 
vision of the district inspector, from whom they receive instruc- 
tions, and to whom they make reports. 



66 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



The district inspector is appointed by the ministry. Men 
are chosen for this office who have had professional and academic 
Types of training, preferably men who have been teachers in 
Inspectors normal schools or principals of large Volksschulen or 
middle schools. The office of district inspector is not, however, 
always filled by a professional man who can devote all of his 
time to this one position. In most cases the office is held as a 
part-time position, and, in a large majority of cases, the office 
is occupied by a clergyman. In large cities the duties of the 
district inspector are often attached to those of the city school 
inspector, who is an official of the city, or to those of the city 
school superintendent (Stadtschulrat) ; in country districts a 
clergyman performs the duties of this office in addition to his 
own ecclesiastical obKgations. This situation in rural communi- 
ties is greatly deplored by German school men, whose ideal it is 
to have all such positions filled by trained men who can give their 
entire time to this work. 

The following table will serve to show how many inspector- 
ships are held as part- and full-time positions. 

PART AND FULL-TIME INSPECTORS IN GERMANY 



Year 


PART-TIitE 


Per Cent 


Full-time 


Per Cent 


1901 


918 


74-5 


311 


25-5 


1902 


914 


74.3 


316 


25-7 


1904 


936 


74-4 


316 


25.6 


1907 


941 


72.4 


331 


27,6 


1910 


901 


71.2 


363 


28.8 


1912 


827 


67.8 


392 


32.2 



It will be seen that the total number of inspectorships has 
decreased ; but this does not mean that the amount of inspec- 
tion is any less, for while the part-time inspectorships fell off 
91, the full-time inspectorships increased 81, and there is little 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 67 

doubt that 81 full-time inspectors can accomplish more than 91 
part-time men. 

There are several reasons why the teachers want inspection 
by trained men. First, of course, because a professional man 
is a better inspector, other things being equal ; second, because, 
if the inspectorships are taken out of the hands of the clergy, 
a large number of positions affording promotion are opened up 
to the common teacher. The question of supervision by the 
clergy is discussed in another place. (See p. 68.) 

The salary of the district school inspector is regulated ac- 
cording to the length of service. The minimum salary is 3000 M., 
while the maximum is 6000 M., the highest salary „ , 

' ° . ^ Salary of 

being reached after twenty-one years of service. An the in- 
allowance is also furnished for expenses incurred in ^p®^*°' 
performing the duties of office. 

2. The Landrat or chief magistrate of the district (Kreis) 
as an official of the Regierung has also the right to visit and 
inspect the schools. He is not, however, concerned 

with the internal affairs of the schools, but only 
with external affairs, buildings, grounds, etc. In case he has 
suggestions to make, he confers with the district school in- 
spector. The Landrat has no disciplinary authority over the 
teachers.^ 

3. The Ortsschtdinspektor, or the local school inspector, is 
the next superior above head teachers or principals (Rektoren) 
and ordinary teachers. The local inspector has the 

p r 11 1 , . ,1 Ortsschul- 

supervision of a few schools only, sometimes those inspektor 
of several small communities, sometimes of a single ?^ ^^^ 

Inspector 

community [Gemeinde) which contains only one 
school. His inspection district is confined to the limits of the 
parish or civil community, or to several communities, in case 
they are united to form a union school district. (See p. 69.) This 
^ Min. Erl. of June 12, 1847, and July 27, 1874. 



68 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

office in small places and in the country is held by a clergyman 
as an incidental office, or by the principal (Rektor) of a school. 
Sometimes, however, the duties of the local inspector are given 
over to the district school inspector, or, if the school has six or 
more grades, the principal exercises the duties of the local in- 
spector and is then directly responsible to the district inspector 
as next higher official. Thus, in a city, a Volksschule would 
be administered by a principal, who, although he has no such 
title, is the local inspector of his school, the next higher super- 
visor being the district school inspector, on the part of the state, 
and the city superintendent {Stadtschulrat) on the part of the 
city, which two offices are generally filled by one man. As a 
rule, however, the local inspectors in small towns and in the 
country are clergymen. 

It seems strange to us in America to have school inspection 
exercised by the clergy, but it arises from the fact that in early 
times the clergy were the only teachers in Germany; indeed, 
the privilege to teach had to be granted by the church. As 
the two professions became more and more distinct, the clergy 
withdrew from the office of teaching, but retained their hold 
upon schools, by reserving to themselves the right of super- 
vision and inspection. It was only natural that the clergy 
should become the local inspectors, for they were the most highly 
educated persons in the community, and they have continued 
so until to-day. Teachers had to have some sort of local super- 
vision, and consequently this work was intrusted to the clergy. 
The tendency now is to take the schools more and more from the 
control or influence of the church and have all the supervising 
officers appointed from the trained teaching profession. It will 
be a long time, however, before an entire removal of the clergy 
from the schools takes place in the country. In the large cities 
of Germany the clergy have nothing to do with the schools 
except to exercise a sort of supervision over the content and 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 69 

methods in the courses in rehgion given in the various types of 
educational institutions. 

The duties of the local inspector are as follows : Duties of 

the Local 

1 . To supervise instruction as to method and subject matter. Inspector 

2. To see that the right division of time is made among the different 
subjects. 

3. To inspect and control the condition of the school buildings, rooms, 
premises, and apparatus. 

4. To know the official and private life of his teachers. 

5. To suspend instruction in cases of necessity. 

6. To grant leaves of absence up to three days. 

7. To take part in the meetings of the local school board. 

8. To make report of his work to the district school inspector. 

The local school inspector is appointed by the administrative 
county (Regierung). 

A community {Gemeinde), either city or rural, forms a school 
corporation (Schulverband) ; that is, the community, when acting 
in the capacity of school corporation, is a (Schulver- 
band) school corporation, union, or society. Several baj^ or ' 
towns, villages, or manors may unite to form a union School 

. . . Society 1 

school corporation or society, while generally a city 
(Stadtgemeinde) forms a school corporation of its own. The 
business of this corporation is to furnish funds for the support 
of the schools and to administer these funds. The local civil 
authorities, the mayor, town or city council, are the representa- 
tives of the Schulverband; just as in America the city or town 
authorities may control school property and levy taxes. 

In cities the administration and the inspection of all elementary 
school affairs, except those rights belonging to the school 
school corporation or community, are intrusted to a deputation 
school deputation {Schiildeputation) } This deputation is re- 

^ Gesetz hetrefend die UnterhaUung der ofentlichen Volksschulen vom 28 Jtdi, igo6. 
2 Schulimterhaltimgsgesetz vom 28 Juli, igo6; Anweisung fiir Aiisfuhrung dieses 
Gesetzes vom 6 November , 1907, 



70 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

sponsible to the local city government, and to the district 
school inspector, who as the representative of the administrative 
county (Regierung), has a seat in this body. 

The deputation has not the same number of members in all 
cities. The law of 1906 says that the deputation shall consist 
of: from one to three members of the administrative or ex- 
ecutive branch of the city government; an equal number of 
members of the city council ; at least an equal number of men 
acquainted with the elementary schools, among which number 
there shall be at least one rector or teacher of a Volksschule; 
the oldest EvangeHcal pastor in service, the ranking Catholic 
priest, and the rabbi, if there are twenty Jewish school children. 
The community may increase these numbers with the approval 
of the higher authorities. The length of term is six years. The 
members of the deputation coming from the executive branch 
of the city government are appointed by the mayor ; the members 
from the council are elected by the council ; the members from 
the teaching body are elected by the members of the deputation 
already chosen. All members must be approved by the Regierung, 
Duties of The school deputation has generally the following 

the School duties : ^ 

Deputation 

1. To supervise aU matters internal and external, which concern the] 
lower schools, except the levying of taxes, controlling school funds, exer-j 
cising of property rights, etc., which are reserved to the city authorities.] 

2. To see that the laws concerning schools are enforced. 

3. To see that the teachers perform their duties faithfully and well. 

4. To enforce the attendance laws. 

5. To see that an ample number of schools are available, and that 
they are kept in good condition. 

6. To grant leaves of absence from fourteen days to six months in 
length. 

7. To create new classes, teaching positions, and schools, as far as 
available funds permit. 

1 Dortmunder Biirgerhuchy 191 2. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 71 

8. To grant teachers permission to assume outside offices or duties 
outside. 

9. To assign teachers to various schools. 

10. To fix school precincts so that each school may have its correct 
quota of children. 

11. To draw up the yearly school budget before the city council. 

12. To administer the income and expenses within the limits of the 
budget as approved and to render accoimts thereof to the city authorities. 

13. To propose candidates for teaching positions to the Regierung 
for approval. 

14. To decide questions dealing with children who desire to leave 
school before the end of the compulsory period. 

15. To buy teaching material, and apparatus; to locate new school 
buildings ; and to vote repairs and new schools. 

These duties and rights are given to the school deputations 
by the Regierung and their decisions require its approval unless 
the Regierung places such duties without reserve in the hands of 
the deputation. 

The representative of the school deputation who visits the 
schools, inspects the class work, and supervises the interna of 
the school is the city school inspector or superintend- city School 
ent {Stadtschulrat) , who also very frequently exercises inspector 
the duties of district school inspector for the Regierung. The 
local school inspector is not found in large cities, his duties 
being assumed by the principals of the schools or by the city 
inspector. The city superintendent (Stadtschulrat) is generally 
a member of the school deputation. In smaller cities there is 
no city superintendent, and in such cases his duties belong then 
either to the district school inspector or to the local inspector 
(Ortsschulinspektor) . In Stettin, a city of a quarter of a milHon 
people, there are two city school superintendents, the one super- 
vising the upper schools, and the other the middle schools and 
a few of the Volkssckulen, the latter exercising the duties of a 
district school inspector, and responsible both to the city and to 



72 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the Regierung. The remainder of the Volksschulen of Stettin 
are supervised by a district school inspector, though his duties 
are very similar to those of the city superintendent in this case. 

In cities, school commissions may be organized for the Volks- 
schulen. That is, for each separate school, or small number of 
School schools, a commission may be established by the city 

Commission authorities with the approval of the Regierung to act as 
patron for the school. This commission is responsible to the 
school deputation. It is composed of the mayor or a member 
of the executive branch of the local government named by the 
mayor ; the local school inspector, if there be one ; the local 
pastor, the rector, or the head teacher of the Volksschule con- 
cerned ; and several members elected from citizens dwelling in 
the school precinct. The two latter classes of members are 
chosen by the school deputation.^ 

Although the duties of this commission are not the same in 
all places, the following are typical : ^ 

1. To supervise the discipline and management of the school. 

2. To investigate absences from school. 

3. To watch over the conduct of the children outside of school. 

4. To care for poor children of the school. 

5. To effect a close relation between home and school. 

6. To make recommendations concerning the school to the school 
deputation. 

7. To carry out the orders which it may receive from the school 
deputation and the Regierung. 

8. To manage any special funds belonging to the school. 

9. To see that the school or schools are as well equipped as the other 
schools of the city. 

10. To organize school kitchens; to provide cheap meals and sum- 
mer outings for the children and evenings for parents. 

11. To advise the school deputation concerning the course of study. 

^ § 45. Gesetz hetrefend die Unterhaltung der ofentUchen Volksschulen, 1906. 
2 Dritte Anweisung Jiir die Ausfiikrung des Schulunterhaltungsgesetzes von 1906, 
Zentralhlatt, 1907. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 73 

12. To grant permission to teachers to give private lessons. (This 
right generally is given by the school deputation.) 

13. To attend the examinations of the school, 

14. To make recommendations to the school deputation with regard 
to improvements, repairs, purchase of materials or apparatus. 

15. To regulate the use of schoolrooms for religious instruction. 

In rural communities, in villages, and in manors, a school 
board {Schulvor stand), ^ represents the community in school 
affairs. As in the cities, the local government (mayor 
and town council) votes the money for the schools, Board or 
exercises the property rights, makes up and approves ^1^^^^°^' 
the yearly budget, and conducts other financial af- 
fairs, while the other affairs of the schools, such as supervision 
and inspection, are in the hands of the local inspector, and of 
the school board created to support and aid the local inspector. 
The law ^ reads : 

In a rural community, which forms a school corporation (see p. 69) 
of its own, a school board is to be created to administer those affairs of the 
Volksschulen which are not reserved to the local civil authorities. 

This school board is composed of : 

1. The president of the community. 

2. A teacher appointed by the Regierung. 

3. The Protestant pastor and the Catholic priest oldest in service, 
and the rabbi. 

4. Two to six citizens belonging to the school precincts in the school 
corporation, that is, the community. These members are elected by the 
council of the community, and must be approved by the Regierung. 

The chief duties of the school board are as follows : ^ 

I. To administer the funds carried on the budget, the current ex- 
penses of the year, and the property set aside for school purposes. 

1 If a country community contains more than ten thousand inhabitants, it may 
establish a school deputation such as are found in cities, though this is not generally 
done. 

2 § 47. Schulimterhaltungsgesetz vom 28 Juli, 1906. G. S., p. 335. 
' Von Bremen, Schulunterhaltimgsgesetz, pp. 225-226. 



74 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

2. To see that salary schedules are according to law. 

3. To provide materials, apparatus, and repairs. 

4. To control the organization of the Volksschulen. 

5. To see that the buildings are heated, ventilated, and cleaned 
properly. 

6. To see that the vacations are begun and closed on the prescribed 
dates, that the instruction begins and ends promptly, and that the build- 
ings are opened and closed punctually. 

7. To establish good relations between the parents and the school. 

8. To enforce attendance according to instructions issued by the 
Regierung. 

9. To organize lectures, school entertainments, and parents' meetings. 

10. To supply school material to poor children, also to furnish them 
breakfast, shoes, and the like, if necessary. 

11. The school board is to be heard so far as local conditions affect 
the fixing of vacations and hours of instruction. In other matters it is 
left to the local or district school inspectors to hear the school board 
where local conditions affect final decisions, in such cases as leave of ab- 
sence for pupils, early excuse from school attendance, and demotion of 
pupils. 

Thus it is seen that the supervision of the actual teaching 
is left entirely to the inspectors except in so far as such inspection 
is intrusted to the principal. 

In the Volksschulen in large cities or in any elementary school 
with six or more grades, the head of the school is called Rektor 
(principal), provided he has passed the examination 
for this position. The heads of other schools are 
known simply as head-teachers (Hauptlehrer), and as such 
have little or no supervising authority. Thus, in country schools 
the principal teacher is called Hauptlehrer. The principal very 
often exercises the rights and duties of the local inspector, as 
we have said above. The duties of the principals are, in general, 
as follows: 

^ Instruktionen von 1811 ; Erlasse vom i Juli, i88g; 25 Juli, 1892; 12 Juli, 189^; 
25 Juli, 1894. Diefistanweisung fiir die Rektoren in Stettin. Zentralblatt, 1894, 
p. 598 ff. 



II 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 75 

1. The principal is the responsible head of his school and the superior 
of the teachers employed in it. Duties 

2 . He shall direct the school in its inner and outward affairs , of the 
in so far as these are not under the authority of some other of- ^^^"P^ 
ficial. He shall take care that the general and special regulations concern- 
ing school affairs and his school are closely followed out and he shall see 
that the school fulfills its purpose in respect to education and instruction. 

3. The principal is directly subordinate to the district school in- 
spector. (In this case the district school inspector's duties are exercised 
frequently by the city school superintendent.) It is the duty of the 
principal to follow the latter's instructions, and on request to furnish 
him information about all affairs concerning instruction, organization, 
discipline, and the conduct of the teachers in and out of school. It is 
likewise the principal's duty to report to the inspector everything which 
advances or retards the aims of the school. 

4. To report to the inspector the circumstances concerning all inner 
and outer deficiencies of the school ; any cases of neglect or impropriety 
of teachers inside or outside of their official duties ; disregard of regula- 
tions dealing with school attendance; all inconveniences which he him- 
self cannot immediately remedy. 

5. To hand to the inspector the prescribed lists and reports at 
definitely fixed periods, particularly, 

(a) The outline course of study for the coming year. 

(b) A statement concerning the number of pupils in the several 

classes and concerning the personal condition and income 
of all teachers employed in the school. 

6. The division of instruction among the several teachers rests with 
the principal, who may consider reasonable requests (as to the work as- 
signed to this or that teacher) in so far as this can be done without any 
disadvantage to the school. The principal himself has to give at least 
twelve or fourteen hours' instruction a week. 

7. The weekly schedule of hours must be posted by the principal 
in plenty of time before the beginning of the school year. Copies 
thereof are presented to the district school inspector and the school 
deputation. The district school inspector and the school deputation 
must be immediately informed of any necessary changes in the schedule. 

8. The principal must see to it regularly that the classbooks as well 
as the prescribed reports are properly kept and note this inspection by 
means of a mark in such books and reports. 



76 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

9. The principal is allowed, as well as required, to visit the classes 
of the teachers in order to bring about a uniform process of instruction 
and discipline in his school, and in order to acquaint himself system- 
atically with the condition of each particular class and with the actual 
compliance with the course of study and the weekly schedule. On these 
visits he himself may take charge of the class if necessary to find out what 
he wishes to know. He may confer with the teachers concerned in re- 
gard to his observations, after the class is over, but never before the pupils. 
General observations are to be brought up in the teachers' meetings. 

10. The principal supervises the teachers. The latter must obey 
his instructions in all official matters. The principal must take steps 
against any abuse of authority or neglect of duty on the part of the teachers. 
He sees that teachers begin and close their classes punctually, that they 
conduct their classes according to schedule, that they follow closely the 
regulations dealing with methods of instruction, that they by their con- 
duct in and out of school show themselves worthy of the respect, esteem, 
and trust which their calling demands. The principal is not allowed to 
inflict discipline upon the teachers, but he is justified in warning and 
advising them concerning their conduct. 

11. He shall assist the teachers to the best of his ability in the fulfill- 
ment of their duties by means of useful advice. The principal shall 
advise teachers as to further education for their calling. 

12. It is the duty of the principal to install new teachers in oflace 
and provide them with instructions concerning the scope of their work. 
He must inform the school deputation or the school board and the dis- 
trict school inspector of the entrance of teachers into service and must 
send the district school inspector a detailed report of the teachers' per- 
sonal affairs ; preparation, career, and the Hke. 

13. The principal is allowed in case of urgent necessity to grant leave 
of absence to teachers or himself for three days. He must accept re- 
quests for longer leaves of absence and forward them to the proper 
authorities. (Further instructions as to longer leaves of absence and 
as to arrangement for substitute teachers are issued to the principals.) 
Provisional cases of substitution are arranged in all cases by the prin- 
cipal. At the end of every leave the teacher must report in person to 
the principal. 

14. It is the duty of the principal to hold a teachers' meeting at least 
once a month in order to consider school affairs, to exchange experiences, 
and to give and receive inspiration for better work. In special cases the 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 77 

principal may call extraordinary meetings. The meetings are held 
outside regular hours and are presided over by the principal. All teachers 
are required to attend these meetings. The order of the day in these 
conferences, to which every member of the teaching staff may bring 
proposals, is announced, when possible, two days before the meeting. 
Personal affairs, complaints concerning one another or the principal, 
do not belong in these conferences. A majority vote decides, the prin- 
cipal's vote deciding in case of a tie. If the decisions reached do not 
seem to the principal to be consistent with the regulations of the authori- 
ties or with the best interests of the school, he must invite the decision 
of the district school inspector. In case the principal rejects a subject 
brought up for discussion or rejects the vote and the teacher who in- 
troduced the discussion is not satisfied, a record of the proceedings is 
taken down by a teacher. This record is signed by the principal and 
the recording secretary. 

15. Written petitions to superiors from teachers are given to the 
principal and are forwarded to higher authorities as soon as possible, 
with a mark to show he has read them, or with his opinion thereon, if 
necessary. 

16. In cases of complaints of parents against teachers, the principal 
determines the facts and if he cannot settle the matter himself, he must 
carry it up to the district school inspector. 

17. The principal must also watch the matter of attendance of pupils 
closely. It is Hkewise his duty to see that regular rolls of every class 
are kept by the several teachers ; to inspect the keeping of class books, 
and to effect a punctual delivery of absentee reports, which are kept and 
given to him by the class teachers. 

18. At the request of a parent the principal may grant a pupil a leave 
of absence up to eight days, after he has convinced himself of the neces- 
sity thereof and after he has conferred with the class teacher concerned 
as to the advisabiHty thereof. The class teacher must be informed 
immediately by the principal of the leave of absence granted. 

19. The principal orders promotion of pupils after conference with 
the teachers. It is also his duty to see that the regulations controlling 
discharge of pupils from the school are closely observed. Requests for 
the discharge of pupils before the legal age are forwarded to the higher 
authorities, by the principal, together with the facts bearing on the case. 
General regulations control the enrollment and transfer of pupils, and 
cases of truancy. 



78 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



ii 



20. The principal's activity extends to all phases of school discipline. 
He must see that the pupils of all classes become accustomed to obedience, 
industry, orderliness, promptness, and decency. He must also endeavor 

to influence the conduct of his pupils outside the school. Likewise it m\ 
is his duty to effect friendly relations between school and home. The 
principal must provide for supervision of the pupils during recesses and 
before and after school. It is further the principal's duty to supervise 
punishments which must be inflicted and to make arrangements so that 
pupils kept in after school are not left without supervision. The princi- 
pal is to prevent any abuse of the disciplinary power on the part of the 
teachers. 

21. The physical welfare of the pupils is also a matter under the 
principal's care. He is to insist on the teacher's giving attention to the 
eyes, bodily defects, and illness among his pupils. For the prevention 
and control of contagious diseases the principal must follow regulations 
of the health authorities governing these matters. 

22. It is the further duty of the principal to watch with care that order 
and cleanHness prevail on all school premises, that the classrooms are 
carefully and regularly aired, and that the seating is proper for the dif- 
ferent classes. He must also see that the prescribed school apparatus is 
on hand and that it is well taken care of. He is to report to the school 
deputation or school board any deficiencies in equipment and any damage 
done thereto. A record of all school property is also kept by him. 

Such is the administration of elementary education in Prussia. 
Little initiative is left to the administrative officers as far as ex- 
^ , . ternal affairs of the schools and school manasrement are 

Conclusion . ° 

concerned. Practically every move of the inspectors, 
superintendents, principals, and teachers is prescribed by school 
laws. As far as our observation has carried us, the rigidity 
in the administration and management of the schools does not 
at all kill originality and individuality in methods, reforms, and 
improvements, which cities or teachers may wish to undertake. 
Organization in the Prussian schools merely means a mechaniza- 
tion of those administrative processes which should be as nearly 
automatic as possible to insure a smoothly running machine. 
The real school system is thoroughly alive and growing. 



CHAPTER III 
GENERAL RELATIONSfflPS OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS 

It is necessary to present a bird's-eye view of the entire public 
school system in Germany in order that the reader may receive 
a clear conception of the Volksschide. The function of the 
Volksschule, its position in the whole educational scheme, and 
its relations to the various other parts of the system will be 
briefly indicated, though many details will have to be omitted 
for the sake of clearness. 

Each of the twenty-six German federal states has its own 
school system, just as each American state has its own system. 
Since Prussia is the largest and most populous state, twenty-six 
containing about two thirds of Germany's population School 
within its borders, a study of the Prussian school sys- ^^ ^™^ 
tem will afford a fair idea of every other German system. As a 
matter of fact, the schools in all the other states are organized 
in much the same way as those of Prussia. As might be ex- 
pected, there are many minor differences among so many inde- 
pendent states, but we may safely take the Prussian system as 
typical of all. 

In America we have the unit system of schools, i.e. one type 
of school superimposed upon the other. In Prussia, however, 
the public schools are organized into three distinct ParaUei 
parallel systems, the lower, the middle, and the higher Systems 
schools, as indicated by the diagram on page 89. These 
parallel systems have arisen to meet the needs of the different 
social strata which exist in German society. 

The schools of the lower system are called VolkssckuleUy 

79 



8o PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

and they correspond very closely to our public elementary 
schools in that the course is eight years in length in both. As 
The Voiks- far as numbers are concerned, the Volksschulen are 
schuien ]^y fg^j. ^j^q most important, since over 90 per cent 
of the children of school age are enrolled in these schools. 
They take the children at the age of six and keep them through- 
out the compulsory attendance period. Further reference to the 
diagram will show that the Volksschulen are paralleled in the 
elementary classes by both the middle and the higher schools. 
This presents a striking contrast to our American elementary and 
high schools, in that our higher schools begin where the elementary 
schools leave off, while in Germany all systems, lower, middle, 
and higher, begin with the primary classes, but run along differ- 
ent lines and continue upward for varying numbers of years. 

The aim of the elementary school is to develop efficient Ger- 
man citizens, — to give boys and girls moral and religious train- 
Aim f th ^^^' ^^ furnish them with that general fund of knowl- 
VoikS' edge every intelligent, independent citizen must have, 

and, above all, to make them patriotic members of 
society. The Volksschulen, as well as the middle and higher 
schools, are institutions of general training, and in themselves 
do not aim to prepare for any definite career ; that is, they do 
not prepare boys and girls for a special trade or caUing. It is 
true, however, that the pupils of any one system are somewhat 
limited to particular fields of work, certain walks in life being 
closed to them, because they have not had in school those sub- 
jects which this or that calling presupposes. For example, it 
would be impossible for a boy who had gone through the Volks- 
schule to study law, because he has had no Latin, which the 
study of law presupposes. 

The pupils of the Volksschulen are children of day laborers, 
peasants, small farmers, waiters, clerks, porters, truck drivers, 
janitors, lower railway employees, blacksmiths, locksmiths, and 



GENERAL RELATIONSHIPS OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS 8i 



other workers of this order. It often occurs, however, that the 
children of higher classes attend the lower schools, ^ ., ^ 

° ^ ^ ' Pupils of 

for the first three years, especially in small towns the Voiks- 
or in the country where there are no preparatory 
classes for the higher schools. 

The child remains eight years in the Volksschule and his train- 
ing is altogether general. At the end he has learned to read, 
write, count, and sing ; he has gathered something 
concerning nature and the daily life about him ; and Nature of 
has been taught his duties toward God and his fellow 
men. When this is done, he is free to choose his work within 
certain fields. As a rule he selects some trade or calling and 
becomes an apprentice, at the same time completing his educa- 
tion in a continuation school, or in some kind of a trade school. 

In Berlin in 1908-09, the boys and girls, who had Trades 
finished the Volksschulen selected the following vo- pupUg^f ^ 
cations : ^^ Voiks- 

schulen 



VOCATIONS ADOPTED 


BY PUPILS OF 

1908-09 


BERLIN VOLKSSCHULEN, 




Boys 


Gerls 


Remain at home 


1,741 
2,044 
4,192 

147 
1,136 

434 

151 

1,480 

201 

689 

251 
30 


6,851 


Day labor 


Handicrafts 


1,347 
314 


Factory work 


Technical industry 

Art trades 


Agriculture, gardening 




Commerce and trade 


2,444 


Hotel work 


Clerkship 

Trade schools 




Higher schools 


147 

2,102 

42 

26 


Housework 

Art 


Civil service 












12,469 


13,273 



82 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The table shows rather clearly the walks into which the ele- 
mentary schools turn their pupils. It must be kept in mind that 
the children are not through with their education when they 
have finished the Volkssckulen, for in all cities over ten thousand 
population the pupils of the elementary schools are obhged to 
attend continuation schools to fit them for the callings which 
they have selected, and in which they have already begun their 
apprenticeship. 

The middle school {Mittelschule) is an extended form of the 
Volksschule. It sets higher aims, and treats each subject a little 
Middle more intensively than in the lower school. The course 

Schools Qf j-Y^Q middle school offers one or two modern lan- 
guages and sometimes Latin. The middle school system exists 
in large cities side by side with the lower and higher school 
systems, yet is entirely independent of them. It occupies the 
middle ground between the lower and higher schools. The 
middle schools charge a tuition fee, though this is smaller than 
the fees charged in the higher schools, while the Volkssckulen 
are entirely free. The middle schools arose out of a need felt 
by some of the parents for a little better education and better 
social surroundings for their children — the poorer elements of 
society being necessarily eliminated by means of the tuition fee. 
The middle schools are attended by the children of under state 
officials, small shopkeepers, small independent tailors, skilled 
mechanics, and the like, — in a word, the children of the lower 
middle class. 

To every one of these statements there are many exceptions, 

very much depending on where the middle school is located, 

and what kind of middle school it is. The new type 

Course of ^ ^ ... ... 

a Middle is a nine-year institution, beginning with the lowest 

primary classes. Many middle schools have only a 

six-year course, which is built up on the first three years of the 

Volksschule; others have a three-year course superimposed upon 



GENERAL RELATIONSHIPS OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS 83 

the first six years of a Volksschule. In small cities and towns 
the children of the better families attend the Volksschule for the 
first three school years and then transfer to a middle or higher 
school. It is consequently difficult to define a middle school, for 
this institution exists in all possible forms, from a one-year 
course to a ten-year course. In all forms, however, the object 
is to give a little better and more extensive course of instruction 
than the local Volksschule can give. 

In Prussia there are 1551 middle schools (191 1), including both 
public and private institutions for both sexes. In addition to 
these schools, there are also middle school classes j^umberof 
organized in connection with the Volksschulen. In Middle 
191 1 there were 255,527 pupils enrolled in these 
schools, while there were over six and a half millions in the 
Volksschulen. Thus one child attends the middle school where 
twenty-six attend the Volksschule. 

The social distinction and the better social atmosphere of the 
middle schools make them preferable to the Volksschulen. The 
boy who has attended and completed the full middle 
school needs to serve only one year in the army, and of the 
he is exempt from attendance at compulsory continua- ^^^^^^ 
tion schools. Further, according to the new organiza- 
tion of the middle schools, the transfer to the higher schools 
{Gymnasium, Realgymnasium, and Oberrealschule) is made 
rather easy, whereas it is almost impossible to enter the higher 
schools from the upper classes of the Volksschule. Transfer to 
the higher schools is possible even after six years in the middle 
school, due to the fact that the middle school offers English, 
French, and Latin, without some one of which entrance into the 
higher schools is impossible. Pupils who have attended a 
middle school have a better opportunity for securing a higher 
position in life than have the pupils of the Volksschulen. The 
former_attain the more desirable positions as bookkeepers, 



84 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

merchants, skilled workmen, mechanics, and school-teachers, 
and in general reach the same social level as that occupied by 
their parents. The transfer from one stratum of society to an- 
other is very difficult, although possible. 

Parallel with the Volksschulen and the middle schools we find 
the higher schools, duplicating them in the lower classes, but 
The Higher reaching up much higher and having a far broader 
Schools scope. The diagram on page 89 makes clear the 
relations of these three systems to one another. Like the 
middle schools, the higher schools denote a social distinction, 
inasmuch as they are attended by the highest and best classes. 
The pupils are the children of the nobiHty, high officials, army 
officers, rich landowners, the larger merchants, manufacturers, 
and teachers in higher institutions. There are also children of 
the poorer classes in these institutions frequently, but they are 
out of place socially. 

There are in general three types of higher schools, the Gym- 
nasiuniy the Realgymnasium, and the Oberrealschule. They are 
, built up on the first three years' work of the Volks- 
Higher schuU OX a preparatory school {Vorschule), which is 

connected with a higher school or exists expressly to 
prepare boys for the higher institutions. Accordingly the 
higher schools take children at the age of nine and educate them 
until they are eighteen, since the course in all these schools ex- 
tends over nine years. The Gymnasium is the humanistic school, 
still retaining Greek and Latin, English being only elective. 
The Realgymnasium has no Greek in its course, but prescribes 
English instead, while the Oberrealschule has neither Greek nor 
Latin, but a great deal of French, English, and science. All of 
these institutions prepare for the universities.^ 

As the diagram on page 89 indicates, there are other types 
of higher schools besides those mentioned. Very frequently the 
1 Russell, German Higher Schools^ 



GENERAL RELATIONSHIPS OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS 85 

first six years of the course in the Gymnasium, the Realgymnasium, 
and the Oherrealschule are organized into schools, giving us the 
Progymnasium, the Realpro gymnasium and the Real- ^bbre- 
schule. They are nothing more than the lower six viated 

. . Types of 

years of the Gymnasium, Realgymnasium, and the Higher 
Oherrealschule, respectively. They are generally found ^^^°°^^ 
in cities which cannot afford the full type of higher school, or in 
towns where there is a large demand for a higher school for boys 
who wish to pass the one-year volunteer examination, but who do 
not wish to remain longer in school. It goes without saying that 
a pupil can transfer from the abbreviated type of higher school 
to a full higher school of corresponding nature without examina- 
tion. 

A great many of the pupils of the higher schools do not finish 
the course at these institutions, but leave as soon as they have 
received the one-year volunteer certificate, which is granted at 
the end of the sixth year in the higher schools of any type, pro- 
vided the examination for this certificate is successfully passed. 
Boys who leave the higher schools at this time, which corresponds 
to the last year in the abbreviated form of higher schools men- 
tioned above, either become merchants, druggists, and state 
officials, or they enter some trade or technical school. Many of 
them leave school at this point with the intention of becoming 
army officers. 

We are concerned here principally with the relation of the 
Volksschule to the schools of the other systems. The schools 
of the higher system lead to the universities, the Relation of 
higher technical schools, and the professional schools, t^® Voiks- 

° . . ' ^ schule to 

The pupils of the higher schools are the future leaders the other 
in Prussia, the future lawyers, doctors, high state ^<^^°°^^ 
officials, bankers, landed proprietors, railroad directors, univer- 
sity professors, and army officers. 
What chance does a pupil of the Volksschule have of getting 



86 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

into a higher school, for example, a Gymnasium?^ Practically, 
he has no chance, unless he enter the higher school at the age of 
nine, after he has been in the Volksschule only three 
from Lower years. At this point the transfer is easy and takes 
to Higher place frequently, especially in small towns or in com- 
munities where the Gymnasien have no preparatory 
departments. After this point in a pupil's career, the chances 
against transfer from the elementary to a higher school are 
about a thousand to one. There is nothing in the law to pre- 
vent a boy who has completed the Volksschule from entering a 
higher school, but it is nearly impossible, on account of the lack 
of foreign language training which the boy in the higher school 
has had since the very first year of his course. Hence, we see 
that if a boy remained eight years in the lower school, a transfer to 
the higher school would be out of the question, since he would be 
four years behind in his foreign language work. The differences 
in the subjects of instruction are so great that a change from 
one system to another is quite impossible after the fourth year. 

In answer to this question, one may say, then, that a pupil of 
the elementary or lower system never gets to the higher system, 
except he enter the first year of the higher school, — the fourth 
school year. He never gets to the university at all, unless he 
does so by private instruction. 

A pupil can go from the Volksschule to the university in a 

roundabout way. There are quite a number of 

VoVksschuie teachers of the Volksschulen who have passed the 

!?*^® . leavinsr examination of the higher schools, which ad- 

University ^ n i i r • i j 

mits to the university. These teachers have finished 
the Volksschulen in eight years, have attended the normal pre- 

^ From reports current in this country at the time of the publication of this 
book, it seems that there are changes contemplated in Prussia looking to an easier 
passage from the lower to higher schools. The Einheitsschule, which means one 
school in the lower grades for all classes of society, seems to be making rapid advance. 



GENERAL RELATIONSHIPS OF SCHOOL SYSTEMS 87 

paratory school for three years, and the normal school for three 
years. After finishing the normal schools and while teaching, 
they have studied privately and passed the leaving examination 
of the higher schools, being finally admitted to the university. 

The transfer from the Volksschde to the middle school is not 
very difficult, because the subjects of instruction are very much 
the same in the first five years of both schools, and 
transfer is possible even later than that, though it en- to and from 
tails some loss of time on the part of the pupil from ^jfods 
the lower school. According to the new regulations 
reorganizing the middle schools, transfer from the middle schools 
to the higher schools is made much easier than heretofore, and 
is possible as late as after the sixth year in school. For example, 
a boy who has attended the middle school for six years may 
transfer into the sixth class (Untersekunda) of the higher school, 
thus sacrificing one year's time. Though the transfer has been 
made easier still, for social reasons pupils of the middle school do 
not take much advantage of the opportunity. 

The Volksschulen in Germany are, therefore, for the very large 
under class. Class fines are very marked, and those lower 
orders of society which send their children to the classes in 
Volksschulen very rarely even think of breaking over Germany 
into the forbidden fields. There is, furthermore, a marked dif- 
ference in the quafity of pupils in the upper schools and those of 
the lower. The lower classes unconsciously admit their in- 
feriority in their attitude to the ruling ten thousand, and they 
have maintained this attitude for so long, that they are now 
really inferior, mentally, morally, and physically. This in- 
feriority may often show itself in a form of hatred of the better 
classes, or in an uncouth impudence or bravado, but it is never- 
theless an acknowledged inferiority. 

One must keep this in mind when studying the Volksschulen, 
for the course of study is not planned with any other thought in 



88 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

mind than that the boys and girls who attend these schools are 
to be the day laborers, the servants, and the burden carriers in 
an aristocratic Hmited monarchy. There are no other chances 
for these under classes. In America a boy may rise as high as 
his ability fits him to go. In Germany a child is bom into a 
class and stays there. 

It must be kept in mind that the Volksschule exists in many 
forms, just as the American elementary school does. In larger 
cities and towns the Volksschule generally has six or 
Forms of more grades. A school with eight grades is probably 
^chiden ^^^ ideal, but comparatively few such schools exist. 
The quality of the Volksschule is frequently as variable 
as in America. 

The table on the following page shows the number of school 
children in the elementary schools of Prussia, separated with 
regard to the number of classes in the schools which they 
attend. The statistics on pages 91-103 show the number of 
Volksschulen in the German empire, as well as the number of 
pupils, pupils per teacher, average salaries, cost per pupil, and 
the like. (See also chapter on The Organization of the Volks- 
schulen.) 

In 191 1 in Prussia there were the following number of Volks- 
schulen and children in attendance thereon. 



PRUSSIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM i 




1 After Rein. 
89 



90 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



TYPES OF VOLKSSCHULEN IN PRUSSIA AND CHILDREN IN THE 

VARIOUS TYPES 



«l 


City 


Country 


Totai. 




Schools 


Pupils 


Schools 


Pupils 


Schools 


Pupils 


One-class school . . 
Half-day school . . 
Two-class school . . 
Three-class school 
Four-class school . . 
Five-class school . . 
Six-class school . . 
Seven-class school 
Eight-class school 


396 
59 
233 
334 
312 

275 

827 

2050 

639 


13,942 

4,316 

22,261 

50,297 

74,769 

80,967 

402,250 

1,422,634 

^475,317 


33,175 

6,596 

4,246 

5,570 

1,617 

901 

657 

759 

38 


650,536 
522,850 
480,620 
860,786 
383,626 

290,473 
294,174 

506,467 

'35,855 


13,571 
6,655 
4,479 
5,904 
1,929 
1,176 
1,484 
2,809 

677 


664,478 
527,166 
502,881 
911,083 

458,39s 
371,440 

696,424 
1,929,101 

511,172 


Total .... 


5125 


2,546,753 


33,559 


4,025,387 


38,684 


6,572,140 



i 



A brief study of this table shows that the Volksschule is organ- 
ized in widely varying forms. The schools of a few classes are 
generally found in the country, while the schools in the cities, 
where more money is available, are organized chiefly on the 
basis of six or more classes. 

The purpose of this chapter is only to set forth the Volks- 
schule in its relation to the other schools existing by its side. 

^This total includes 11,288 children who are enrolled in classes or grades ad- 
vanced beyond the eighth. 

2 This total includes 1350 children who are enrolled in classes or grades advanced 
beyond the eighth. 



CHAPTER IV 
STATISTICS OF THE PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS * 

The birth rate has decreased very rapidly in Germany in the 
last thirty years, especially within the last ten years. The de- 
crease has been more rapid in the cities than in the Effect of 
country, and it has been particularly marked in the Decrease in 
famines of handworkers and others mdustrially em- on the 
ployed. The causes for this decrease are the same as ^^°° ^ 
in other modern countries, except that the decrease has been 
more rapid in the last decade in Germany than in any other 
European country. The birth rate in Germany is still much 
higher than in France, England, or America, though the present 
tendency is alarming. It must be mentioned that the death rate 
has also decreased, but not in comparison with the birth rate.^ 
The figures on the following page, from the Schulstatistischen 
Blatter, January i6, 1913, show the rate of the decrease. 

The number of children in the Volksschulen of Prussia in 1901, 
1906, and 1911, was 3,670,870 ; 6,164,398 ; and 6,572,140 respec- 
tively. The increase in the number of pupils from E^g^t ^f 
iQoi to 1Q06 was 8.7 per cent, while the increase from Decreased 

^ ^ / i^ J Bij^lj Rate 

1906 to 191 1 was only 6.61 per cent. A very large on Voiks- 
decrease in the growth of Volksschulen is clearly indi- ^^^^ ^" 
cated. This decrease is partly due to the fact that more and 
more children are going every year to the higher schools, but 

^ The figures quoted in this and the following chapter are based on the following 
sources {q.v.) : 

1. Statistisches Jahrhuch des deutschen Reiches, 19 13. 

2. Statistisches Jahrhuch fiir den preussischen Staat, 19 13. 

3. Vierteljahrshefte ziir Statistik des deutschen Reiches, vol. 22, 1913. 

4. Schulstatische Blatter, 1912-1914. 

2 Statistisches Jahrhuch des deutschen Reiches (1913) and Statistisches Jahrhuch 
fiir den preussischen Staat (1913). 

91 



92 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



BIRTH AND DEATH RATE IN GERMAN aTIES IN 


1875-6 AND I 


910-11 




Per I goo Inhabitants 


Excess of 
















Births Over 
Deaths 


AbSOL^'''''' T^wnj-PACTT 


City 


Births 


Deaths 








1875-6 


1910-11 


1875-6 


1910-11 


1875-6 


1910-11 


Births 


Deaths 


Surplus 


Altona . . . 


43-57 


23.19 


27.23 


16.16 


16.34 


7.03 


20.38 


11.07 


9.31 


Berlin . . . 


44-65 


21.00 


31.22 


15.07 


13-43 


5-93 


23.65 


16.15 


7.50 


Breslau . . 


41.94 


27.26 


32.10 


19,80 


9.84 


7.46 


14.78 


12.30 


2,48 


Charlottenburg 


47.16 


18.90 


34-05 


11.35 


13. II 


7.55 


28.26 


22.70 


5.56 


Elberfeld . . 


44-45 


24.51 


28.21 


12.75 


16.24 


11.76 


19.94 


15.46 


4.48 


Essen . . . 


56.00 


3I-II 


28.87 


13.28 


27.13 


17.83 


24.89 


15.59 


9.30 


Hannover . . 


38.32 


21.15 


20.72 


13.23 


17.60 


7.92 


17.17 


7-49 


9,68 


Chermutz . . 


52.74 


27.89 


31-08 


16.39 


21.66 


11.44 


24.91 


14.69 


10,22 


Dresden . . 


37.53 


20.87 


24.88 


14.16 


12.65 


6.71 


16.66 


10,72 


5.94 


Hamburg 


40.57 


23-54 


24-97 


14.49 


15.60 


9.05 


17.03 


10.48 


6.55 


Munich . . 


43-84 


22.97 


34.75 


15-93 


9.09 


7.04 


20.87 


18.82 


2.05 


Strassburg . . 


39-42 


23.21 


30.42 


16.33 


9.00 


6.88 


16.21 


14.09 


2.12 


Stuttgart . . 


44.08 


24.46 


27.53 


14-34 


16.55 


10.12 


19.62 


13.19 


6.43 



the falling off in the birth rate among the working classes is the 
chief factor in producing this result. German statisticians 
estimate that the number of children in the Volksschulen will 
reach a standstill in a very few years. ^ At the same time the 
number of Catholic children in the Volksschulen has increased 
very much more rapidly than the number of Protestant children.^ 
There are two reasons for this apparently. First, the Protestant 
children attend the higher schools in proportionately greater 
numbers ; and, secondly, the birth rate is considerably higher in 
Catholic than Protestant families. 

SCHOOL CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS 





1886 


1891 


1896 


1901 


1906 


1911 


Protestant . , 
Catholic . . . 
Jews .... 
Others . . . 


3,062,856 

1,730,402 

35,420 

9,569 


3,107,701 

1,766,835 

30,386 

11,554 


3,296,481 
1,901,013 

27,015 
12,317 


3,507,715 

2,118,815 

24,022 

20,318 


3,724,547 

2,391,980 

22,211 

20,318 


3,871,902 

2,650,722 

19,965 

29,551 



1 See article by Dr. Sachse in " Verwaltung und Statistik," No. 3, 1913. 
* Statistisches Jahrhuch fiir den preussischen Staat, 1913, p. 402. 



STATISTICS OF PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 93 

The number of school children increased 35.8 per cent in the 
twenty-five years. Protestant children in the Volksschulen 
increased only 26.4 per cent, while the number of CathoHc school 
children increased 53.2 per cent. Not only did the CathoHc 
pupils make a greater relative gain, but also a greater absolute 
increase. During the period indicated the Protestant children 
increased 809,046, while the CathoHcs increased 920,320. The 
number of Jewish children has very rapidly decreased from 
35,420 to 19,965. This is owing largely to the fact that the Jews 
take advantage of higher education wherever possible, even if it 
means financial sacrifice. 

The Volksschule is the school of the people. Nine children 
out of every ten receive a common school education, that is, 
they are educated in the Volksschulen. The other 
child of the ten goes to some other form of school. Number of 
In all Germany, 892 boys from each thousand attend p^p^^s in 
the Volksschule, 27 attend the middle school, 8 the Types of 
Vorschule, which is a preparatory school for the higher schools 
schools, and 73 receive their training in the higher 
schools. Among the girls the figures are 923, 35, o.i, and 42 
respectively, from which it is evident that the boys receive the 
benefits of higher education in greater numbers than do the 
girls. In some other states the figures vary greatly from the 
average, but such states have on the whole comparatively few 
inhabitants. Bavaria shows a very high proportion of children 
in the Volksschulen, while the manufacturing centers like Wiirt- 
temberg, Hesse, Bremen, Llibeck, and Hamburg show large 
numbers in the higher schools. The showing of Bavaria is really 
as good as the others in regard to higher education, for there are 
compulsory continuation schools with three years' courses 
throughout this kingdom, which offsets any apparent advantage 
of the other states. 

The total expenditures in Prussia in 191 1 for Volksschulen, 



94 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

middle schools, and higher schools, were 420,898,192 M., 
25,760,324 M., and 113,287,974 M., respectively, with a total 
of 559,946,490 M. Of the total number of pupils 
tm-es^for ^9-7 P^^ Cent were in the Volksschulen, 2.9 per cent 
Voiks- yj^ |-j^g middle schools, and the remainder, 7.4 per 

schulen, i 7 • 

Middle and Cent, were in the higher schools. As for the relative 
SchooL in expenditures on these three types of schools, it is found 
Prussia, that the Volksschulen got 75.2 per cent of each one 
thousand marks expended, the middle schools 4.0 per 
cent, and the higher schools 20.8 per cent. 

The cost of a pupil of the Volksschule for one year is 64 M., 
or less than $16, while pupils in the middle and higher schools 
cost 143 M. ($34) and 296 M. ($70) respectively. In other 
words, it costs on the average four and a half times as much to 
educate a boy in the higher school as it does in the Volksschule, 
and over twice as much as it costs in the middle school. The 
causes for the great differences lie in the higher cost of instruc- 
tion and fewer pupils per teacher. Likewise the equipment in 
the higher schools is more expensive, but not decidedly so. The 
chief cause is the small numbers in the classes of higher schools. 
The lower schools prepare their pupils for the humbler walks of 
life, the higher schools for the leadership of the nation. Never- 
theless, it is questionable if the average product of the Gymnasium 
is mentally, morally, and economically worth as much more than 
the average product of the Volksschule as the ratio of the costs 
of their education would indicate or ought to indicate. 

The total expenditures for Volksschulen, middle schools, and 
higher schools in 1911 in all Germany were 877,561,848 M. or 
$208,943,297. One begins to grasp the amount ex- 
penditures pended for education in Germany when one begins to 
for Schoo s (,Qj^sj(jgj- the numerous other types of education, for 

example, the whole system of continuation training, normal 
schools for teachers, universities, technical schools, the most 



STATISTICS OF PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 95 

expensive types of instruction. The pupil of the Volksschule 
costs 65 M. a year, the middle school pupil 112 M., and the 
pupil of the higher school 288 M. The lowest expenditure of all 
we find in Lippe, 43 M. yearly for an elementary pupil, and the 
highest in Hamburg, 123 M. In considering the averages, it 
must be kept in mind that they are based upon the number of 
children enrolled, which, for the lower schools in Germany, is 
the same as the number of children of legal school age on account 
of the rigid enforcement of the compulsory attendance law, and 
substantially the same as the average attendance. The cost of 
the school child in America is on the average much less than in 
Germany, though in some states as much or more. But we 
find no black pages of niggardly expenditure in Germany to com- 
pare with the conditions in South CaroHna, Georgia, and other 
Southern states. 

The total number of elementary public schools in Germany 
in 1911 was 61,557, with 10,309,949 pupils, and 187,485 full- 
time teachers. Of these teachers 20.8 per cent were statistics of 
women, which shows a large increase over the figures *he Voiks- 

. ^ , , schulen in 

tor 1 90 1. Some states have almost no women Germany 
teachers, while others employ a rather large percent- ^^^ ^^^' 
age of women. The average number of children per teacher is 
decreasing, for in 1901 there were 61 pupils for each teacher, 
in 1906 a Httle more than 58, and in 191 1 fewer than 55. In the 
cities the average is well under 50, for example, Liibeck with 31, 
Hamburg with 33, and Bremen with 41, while in some of the 
small principalities the average number is well over sixty. The 
total cost of the Volksschulen was in 191 1 $167,459,133, of which 
31.9 per cent was borne by the state. In the larger states of 
Germany the state aid amounts to one third or one fourth of 
the total, while in the smaller states it ranges from 6.9 per cent 
in Mecklenburg-Schwerin to 86.8 per cent in Anhalt. 
The average number of pupils per teacher in the German 



96 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Volkssckulen is 55, in the middle schools 30, in the preparatory 
40, and in the higher 18.6. It was seen above that the pupil of 
the higher school cost $70 per year, while the elementary school 
pupil cost $16. The average number per teacher in the lower 
type school is just about three times that in the higher school, 
so this may be noted as one of the chief causes for the great 
difTerence in the cost of educating pupils in the lower and in the 
higher schools. 

About one of every five elementary school-teachers is a woman. 
In Liibeck the women hold 47.3 per cent of the positions ; in 
Women Alsace-Lorraine, 45.3 ; in Hamburg, ^8 ; in West- 
Teachers phalia, 38 ; in BerHn, 36 ; in Rhineland, 36. In other 
words, in densely populated manufacturing districts the women 
are employed in large numbers, in the first place, because women 
prefer the cities, and second, because graded systems offer more 
opportunities for the employment of women teachers than do 
one- and two-class schools in agricultural sections, where the 
management is hard and where prejudice is still strong against 
"female teachers." For example, in East Prussia only 9.9 per 
cent of the teachers are women; in West Prussia, 9.1; in 
Pomerania, 10.3; in Posen, 7.2; and in Mecklenburg-Strelitz 
also 7.2 ; while in the smaller principalities the percentage is 
even less. In the middle schools there is a large percentage of 
women, due chiefly to the fact that middle schools are generally 
in large cities, where women are more largely employed as 
teachers than in the country. In the thirty-three Prussian 
cities of over 100,000 population, the percentage of women 
teachers in the Volkssckulen is 32 per cent, about the same as 
the percentage of women teachers employed in the middle 
schools.^ 

It has been mentioned above that the average number of 
pupils per teacher in the Volkssckulen was about 55. The 
^ SchulstatisHsche Blatter, Jan. 16, 1913, p. 2. 



STATISTICS OF PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 97 

average number in each class in Prussia is somewhat less. It 
has not been possible to find figures for all Prussia showing the 
number of classes with less than thirty pupils, the _„ 
number with between thirty and forty pupils, and so N^ber of 
on. This sort of statistics would give us a much ?yp^^ p®^ 

. . Class 

better picture of real class condition than can the ever 
misleading averages. The average number per class in Prus- 
sian cities of over 100,000 is 49, while the average for all the 
Prussian Volksschulen is 51.^ In some cases it has been possible 
to obtain statistics which are illustrative of conditions in rural 
districts, if not in the cities. According to the statistical infor- 
mation of March i, 191 2, from Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, 
there were 98 pubHc Volksschulen, with 279 classes, 14,718 pupils, 
and 258 teachers. On the average there were 53.3 pupils per 
class and 57.6 pupils per teacher. The actual conditions were 
as follows : 



ONE-CLASS SCHOOLS 



Number op Schools 


Range in Number of Children 


3 


Fewer than 20 ^ 


10 


21-30 


9 


31-40 


5 


41-50 


7 


51-60 


4 


61-70 


8 


71-80 


4 


81-90 


S 


91-100 


I 


116 


56 


Total number of schools 



^ Schulstatistische Blatter, Jan. 16, 1913, p. 2. 



98 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



TWO-CLASS SCHOOLS 



Number or Schools 


Number of Children 


Number of Teachers 


2 
2 
3 

3 
3 

I 


80-90 

90-100 

100-120 

I 21-140 

141-150 

158 


I 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 


14 


Total schools 





THREE-CLASS SCHOOLS 



Number of Schools 


Number of Children 


Number of Teachers 






"3 


2 






116 


2 






132 


2 






133 


2 






136 


2 






149 


2 






172 


3 






187 


3 






233 


3 


Total Number of Schools 


— 9 







FOUR-CLASS SCHOOLS 



Number of Schools 


Number of Children 


Number of Teachers 




240 

230 

218 

219 • 

278 

280 


2 

3 

4 
4 
4 
4 


Total Schools — 6 







STATISTICS OF PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 99 



SIX-CLASS SCHOOLS 



Number of Schools 


Number of Children 


Number of Teachers 


I 

I 
I 


203 
29s 

345 


3 

5 
4 


Total Schools 







There were 2 schools with seven classes with 364 and 518 
pupils, and 5 teachers and 7 teachers respectively; 2 schools 
with eight classes, each with 8 teachers and 553 and 570 pupils ; 
I school with eleven classes, 510 children, and 10 teachers; 3 
schools each with 14 classes respectively 753, 657, and 602 chil- 
dren and 12, 14, and 16 teachers; i school with 21 classes, 943 
children, and 22 teachers; i school with 22 classes, 964 children, 
and 21 teachers. The 14,871 school children were divided 
among 279 classes as follows : 



DISTRIBUTION OF PUPILS ACCORDING TO NUMBERS IN CLASSES 



Less than 20 Pupils in 3 Classes 1.0% 


71-80 Pupils in 


30 Classes 10.7% 


21-30 Pupils in 17 Classes 6.0% 


81-90 Pupils in 


8 Classes 2.8% 


31-40 Pupils in 36 Classes 12.9% 


91-100 Pupils in 


4 Classes 1.3% 


41-50 Pupils in 85 Classes 30.4% 


loi-iio Pupils in 


I Class 0.03% 


51-60 Pupils in 54 Classes 19.3% 


111-120 Pupils in 


2 Classes 0.07% 


61-70 Pupils in 38 Classes 13.6% 


over 120 Pupils in 


I Class 0.03% 



From this last table we see that the middle 50 per cent of the 
classes have from 41 to 60 pupils, more than 25 per cent of the 
classes have more than 60 pupils, and about 20 per cent have 
less than 40 pupils. There are some classes with 90 and one 
class with ii6(!) in it. Such conditions are not at all scarce 
in rural sections of Germany, though the average never shows 
what the extremes are. 



lOO PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

School Maintenance in Prussia 

Before the enforcement of compulsory school attendance, 
schools were looked upon as a private matter. Education was 
School ^^^ considered then a matter of common interest, and 

Mainte- the costs Were laid entirely upon the shoulders of the 

nance 

Previous to parents, although the church, of course, gave aid in 
^^°^ exchange for its control of the schools. Tuition was 

charged in all public schools and in this way the schools were 
supported. While the Allgemeine Landrecht of 1794 declared 
the schools to be institutions of the state, it laid no part of the 
burden of their support upon the state, but assigned it to heads 
of families and other legally and economically independent per- 
sons dwelling in the school district, whether they had children 
or not. The maintenance of the public Volksschulen devolved 
upon school societies, which formed their own corporations. 
These school societies continued until the passage of the School 
Maintenance Law in 1906, when they passed out of existence. 
School fees were the chief source of revenue for these school 
societies. The remainder of the school expense was divided 
among the heads of families according to their financial condi- 
tion. Schools on landed estates depended upon the lords of the 
manor for their support. None of the newly acquired Prussian 
provinces had school laws which made the state responsible for 
the costs of public education. In fact, in most of the provinces 
and principalities there was general confusion in regard to the 
raising of school moneys ; part was levied in this way, part was 
raised in that, part was the income of some foundation, and so 
on. There was continual confusion and no definite, clear-cut 
policy was followed, at least no uniform policy for the whole 
kingdom. The Prussian government, of course, recognized the 
faults many years ago, but circumstances involving religious 
and political questions would not permit an easy reorganization 



STATISTICS OF PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS loi 

of school property for the matter of raising school funds. In 
1 817 the plan of giving over the burden of school maintenance 
to the civil communities was discussed and was embodied in 
the school law for the province of Prussia in 1845. Article 25 of 
the constitution of 1850 declared that the means for the support 
of the public schools were to be raised by the civil communities, 
and in case of lack of funds the deficiency was to be made up by 
the state. Nothing came of this, however, and the schools were 
supported as before. They were waiting for the passage of a 
general school law, which has not yet appeared, although laws 
covering various phases of the school administration have been 
passed. Many attempts were made to regulate the matter, but 
all such efforts failed. In 1889 school fees were abolished, which 
was one step in the right direction, and state aid was granted 
to all political communities (Gemeinde). State aid to civil 
communities was later limited to those in which the school cor- 
poration employed fewer than twenty-six teachers. 

Previous to the passing of the School Maintenance Law of 
1906, the legal bases of state aid rested (i) upon Article 26 of 
the constitution which granted aid to communities 
which could not support their schools alone ; (2) upon Makite- 
the pension law of 1885 under which the state contrib- °f nee Law 

J , . of 1906 

uted to the pensions of retired teachers, and again by 
the Pension Fund Law of 1893 ; (3) upon the salary law of 1897 
under which the state granted support in payment of teachers' 
salaries in communities employing fewer than twenty-six teachers, 
also moving and traveling expenses for teachers and perpetual 
grants for communities which lost state aid through changes 
brought about by the salary law; (4) and upon the Widows' 
and Orphans' Pension Law of 1899, by which the state contrib- 
utes a part of the pension. The law of 1906 affected none of 
the foregoing laws mentioned. This law took away the obliga- 
tion of school maintenance from the confessional (sectarian) 



I02 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

school societies and lodged it with the political, civil communi- 
ties. School societies were abolished. School corporations 
(Verbdnde) were formed in their stead. Civil communities which 
previously had borne the costs of the schools continued as before. 
Under the new law the state, the political communities, and the 
lords of manors are responsible for the support of the schools. 
Outside civil communities, other school corporations, founda- 
tions, and Jewish school "societies" are allowed to remain in 
case they exist under special provision, and they too are made 
co-bearers of the public expenditures. The State itself assumes 
more of the burden than heretofore. State aids which are new are 
as follows : (i) 5,000,000 marks for equalization purposes among 
poorer corporations which have suffered by changes produced by 
the law ; (2) aids for poor corporations with less than twenty-six 
teachers ; (3) building aid for school corporations with less than 
eight teachers ; (4) aid for school corporations in establishing a 
central fund where there are more than twenty-five teachers; 
(5) estabHshment of new positions for teachers ; (6) building aid 
for corporations with fewer than twenty-six teachers. Aid in 
various forms as mentioned above is still paid by the state. 

Attention is now called to the actual expenditures for the 
Prussian elementary schools. The burden is carried by the two 
\ political units : the state, and the civil community. 
School Bur- which, acting as a unit of school organization and 
PtussS administration, forms a school corporation {Schulver- 
hand). Under civil communities must be included 
landed estates or manors (Gutsbezirke) and other school cor- 
porations. As a rule each political or civil community, also 
landed estate, forms its own school corporation. This school 
corporation, which in reality is the civil community, is respon- 
sible for all expenditures for schools which are not granted by 
the state. The state contributes in Prussia and in all Germany 
about one third of the total expenditure. The reader can see 



STATISTICS OF PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 103 

readily the proportion which each item of state aid receives. 
The largest items are : the aid for teachers' salaries, the basal 
salary (Grundgehalt, see p. 199), age salary increments, and 
temporary grants to poorer communities for general support of 
the schools. On the side of the local community almost all of 
the money is given by the regular school corporations, that is, 
by the community itself. 

Over four fifths of the total expenditures are personal, while 
material expenditures are but little less than one fifth. Teachers' 
salaries actually constitute the biggest item of expenditure by 
amounting to about 70 per cent of the grand total. One of the 
other items is worthy of attention, the total cost of heating and 
cleaning buildings and the salaries of janitors. In 191 1 this 
amounted to $4,495,150, which to Americans seems extremely 
low, a little more than 4 per cent of the total expenditure. The 
causes for the extremely low cost of heating are not far to seek. 
In the first place, the climate in Prussia is much milder and 
more regular than in America and fuel costs are therefore much 
lower ; second, very strict economy in the use of fuel is prac- 
ticed ; third, the ventilation systems are seldom connected 
organically with the heating systems ; fourth, most of the schools 
ventilate very Kttle except during recesses and a great deal of 
heated air is thus saved. Strict discipline as to the condition 
of the rooms brings the cleaning costs to a minimum. 

The Prussian system of school maintenance recommends 
itself in that no community suft'ers because of lack of funds. 
Naturally some communities are richer than others, and can 
spend more money on schools than others, but no town or village 
is required to go without the necessary equipment in buildings, 
teachers, or in any other essential. If a corporation is too poor 
to pay for its schools, the state contributes enough money to 
bring them up to the required standard, without overburdening 
the taxpayers of any particular district. 



CHAPTER V 
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE 

Although attempts at compulsory attendance had been made 
during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, no great 
Develop- success resulted therefrom. Frederick William I by 
Compulsory ^^^ Edict of September 28, 171 7, took the first defi- 
Attendance nite Step in this direction in Prussia. The Edict 
reads in part : 

In places where there are schools, parents shall be compelled under 
penalty of punishment to send their children to school every day in the 
winter, and once or twice a week in the summer. 

Just what degree of success this regulation met with is not 
known. The General Rural School Regulation of August 12, 
1763, also contained sections which authorized the enforcement 
of compulsory attendance. 

Subsequently, school attendance was again regulated by the 
Allgemeine Landrecht of February 5, 1794, which is still in effect 
except for some minor changes. Some of the sections of this law 
run as follows : 

§ 43. Every citizen who cannot or will not provide his children with 
the necessary instruction at home is compelled to send them to school 
after they have completed their fifth year. 

§ 44. Only by the consent of the magistrate and the clerical school 
inspector (now the local inspector) may a child be kept out of school 
longer, or may the instruction be put off to a later time on account of 
local difficulties which may arise. 

§ 46. The instruction must be continued until the child, in the opinion 
of his pastor (now the Kreisschulinspektor), has acquired knowledge 
sufficient for any reasonable man of his (the child's) position in society. 

104 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE 105 

§ 48. It is the duty of the school authorities, with the aid of the civil 
authorities, to see that all children eligible for school according to the 
preceding regulations shall be compelled to attend school; if necessary 
by force, or by punishment of the negligent parents. 

Likewise in the Cabinet Order of May 14, 1825, compulsory 
attendance was extended to the newly acquired provinces in 
Prussia and, as in the Allgemeine Landrecht of 1794, attendance 
at school was to begin after the completion of the fifth year. 
No definite termination of compulsory attendance was fixed by 
either of the regulations just quoted, except that a child was to 
be kept in school until he had acquired that knowledge which 
was considered necessary for his position in life. 

As just stated, the first compulsory attendance laws in Prussia 
required the children to be sent to school at the completion of 
the fifth year. That age was found to be somewhat „ . . 

-^ T . . Beginning 

too young, and by a ministerial decree of 1862,^ the of CompiU- 
administrative counties of the several provinces were ^°^ ^^ 
allowed to postpone enrollment of pupils until after the comple- 
tion of the sixth year. Accordingly, at present children start to 
school in Prussia after the completion of the sixth year. The 
child does not, however, enter school for the first time on his 
sixth birthday, but at the regular enrollment day falling nearest 
his sixth birthday. In provinces where children are enrolled 
once a year, — generally about April first or after Easter, — a 
child must be enrolled, if he has already completed his sixth, 
or if he shall have completed his sixth year within six months 
after the regular date of enrollment. In Dortmund, in West- 
phalia, the law reads as follows : ^ 

§ I. Children just entering the compulsory school age are enrolled 
in the public elementary schools once a year only; namely, at Easter, 
the beginning of the school year. 

1 Min. Erl., 14 Jan. 1862, Zentralhlatt, 1862, p. 121. 

2 Dortmunder Bugerbuch, 1912, p. 152. 



lo6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The administrative county board fixes the date of the beginning of 
the school year and of the enrollment. 

Children, coming from other communities, who are of compulsory age, 
and who have already attended school, are enrolled at any time in the 
schools, and as soon as possible after their arrival. 

§ 2. At the beginning of the school year, all those children become of 
compulsory age, who up till then have completed their sixth year, or will 
have completed it before October i of that year. 

In districts or in provinces where children are admitted to school twice 
a year, children under six are enrolled who will complete their sixth year 
within three months after the date of enrollment. 

The local police make up the lists of all children who are of 
school age and transmit these lists to the school deputations or 
Method of boards about two weeks before the day of enrollment. 
Enforce- Notices are generally posted throughout the town 

ment of o ^ x- o 

Compulsory announcmg the date of enrollment, together with the 
^*^ law governing school attendance and the punishment 

which may be inflicted upon parents or guardians who neglect 
their duty. Thanks to these police lists, the school authorities 
know exactly what children are to be expected, and if such chil- 
dren do not appear, steps may then be taken to compel their 
attendance. Compulsory attendance means that all children 
shall take part in the instruction in all subjects taught in the 
Volksschulen, except that Jewish children are not required to be 
present at school when instruction in religion is given. Children 
of Protestant parentage as a rule are enrolled in Protestant 
schools, while Catholic children are enrolled in Catholic schools. 
No child, however, may be excluded from a school on account 
of his religious adherence, although children of one confession 
do not attend a school of another confession, if it can be avoided. 

Note. — For provisions for religious instruction of children of differing 
creeds, see Chapter XV, p. 287. 

When a child is enrolled in a school, he is required to present 
a certificate of baptism. Unbaptized children of Protestant 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE 107 

parents are sent to evangelical schools, while unbaptized children 
of Catholic parents go to CathoUc schools.^ Children of eleven 
years of age or over are required to present a vaccination cer- 
tificate.^ 

There is no compulsory attendance law for the whole empire, 
but each state has a law of its own. There is an agreement 
between the states, however, that no citizen of the empire may, 
for any great length of time, keep his child out of school during 
the compulsory period. As in Prussia, compulsory attendance 
in most of the states begins after the child is six years old. In 
Wiirttemberg and in Lippe-Detmold the school age begins one 
year later. 

All children of school age are required to attend the Volks- 
schulen and partake of all the subjects of instruction, unless in 
other schools or privately educated, and they are also 
required to take part in school festivals and excursions, from At- 
Compulsory attendance also includes the obligation on 
the part of parents to purchase books and other school material 
for their children. Exceptions are made, however, in the matter 
of attendance, there being both total and partial forms of exemp- 
tion. The beginning of the school age may be put off with the 
consent of the school authorities, if the child lives far from a 
school, or if it seems best to keep the child out of school on 
account of his health. Blind, deaf, or dumb children are not 
compelled to attend regular schools, but must attend special 
schools, the blind being required to attend from six to four- 
teen and the deaf and dumb from six to fifteen. Children of 
another religious faith than that of the majority of the school 
are excused from the religious instruction, if they can prove 
that they receive such instruction from their own pastors or in- 
structors in religion. Children without a religious faith are not 
excused. Jewish children may be excused from school on Satur- 

* Min.Erl., September 27, 1880. ^ Vaccination law of April 8, 1874. 



io8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

day or holidays to worship in the synagogue, if their parents 
have received such permission from the authorities. Otherwise 
they must attend school. Jewish children who attend school on 
Saturdays or on holidays, however, cannot be compelled against 
the will of their parents to take part in written work.^ 

Children may be excused from gymnastics or physical training 
if they are physically weak or ill, but such dispensation requires a 
doctor's order. A child is excused from physical training for 
two weeks after vaccination. Children are also sometimes 
not required to attend school during the illness of parents 
who are too poor to hire a nurse or secure other care. Sick- 
ness, of course, removes from the children the obligation of 
attendance. 

The compulsory school attendance period lasts generally eight 

years, from the completion of the sixth year to the completion 

of the fourteenth year. According to the Order of 

School May 14, 1825, no definite age was set for the termina- 

Attendance ^^^^ ^f |-j^g compulsory attendance, but the child was 

Dismissal . 

to be dismissed from school, when, in the opinion of 
his spiritual adviser (now the district school inspector) he had 
acquired the knowledge necessary for his position in Hfe. There 
is then no definite age for the termination of this school period, 
nor is the child necessarily excused from attendance by the mere 
fact that he has been confirmed. As a matter of actual practice, 
dismissal from school and confirmation occur at the same time, 
generally at Easter or in the October following the completion 
of the fourteenth year. Dismissal from school, however, depends 
upon the school authorities. In East and West Prussia dismissal 
takes place on the fourteenth birthday. In Bavaria the com- 
pulsory period runs from six to thirteen, and in Wiirttemberg 
and in Lippe-Detmold it lasts from seven to fourteen. As a 

1 Erl. of May 6, 1859; April 4, 1868; April 5, 1884, pp. 523, 333, and 346, of 
these years. 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE 109 

general rule, the German child must go to school from the age 
of six until the age of fourteen. 

When the child leaves the school he receives a certificate of 
dismissal {Entlassungszeugnis or Abgangszeugnis), and once this 
certificate has been granted the child is no longer liable for com- 
pulsory attendance in the Volksschule. 

The following passages from the school regulations of West- 
phalia ^ give a good idea of the manner of dismissal from a 
Volksschule. 

§ 5. Dismissal from the public Volksschule takes place only once a 
year, to wit, at the close of the winter semester (April i). . . . 

§ 6. All children are eligible for dismissal at this time, who have com- 
pleted the fourteenth year or will complete it before September 30, of 
that year, provided they have acquired sufficient knowledge and ability. 
If the latter is not the case, the compulsory attendance period can be 
extended one year by the district school inspector. 

§ 4.2 The possession of sufficient knowledge and ability (§6 above) 
is determined by an examination, which is held by the local school in- 
spector, or, in schools directly under the supervision of the district 
school inspector by the latter. This examination can be given by the 
principal. 

§ 5. If the examination shows sufficient ability on the part of the 
child, dismissal follows either by the local inspector or the principal. 

To every child dismissed a certificate of dismissal is given which is 
signed by the teacher, the principal of the school, and the local in- 
spector. 

This, with what has been said previously, gives a fair idea of 
the enrollment and dismissal of children in elementary schools 
in Prussia, and also in all Germany. There is, however, no 
set rule for the whole empire, and in fact Prussia itself has 
by no means a uniform system in respect to ages of enroll- 

^ Verordnung hdrefend Regelung der Schidpflicht, Jan. 9, 1907. Provinz West- 
falen. 

2 Anweisung zur Aiisfiihrung der Verordnung, hetrefend Regelung der Schulpflichi 
Jilr die Provinz Westfalen, vom g Januar, 1907. 



no PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

ment and dismissal, this matter being left to the several 
provinces to regulate, in order to accommodate their own local 
conditions. 

There are no general regulations controlling the length of the 
leaves of absence which may be granted pupils, each adminis- 
Leave of trative county regulating this to suit its own local con- 
Absence ditions. In general a teacher may grant a leave of 
absence up to three days, but such leaves must not amount to 
more than one or two weeks in all within one half year. The 
principal of a school may grant a leave of eight days, while 
longer leaves must be granted either by the local inspector or 
by the district school inspector. Such leaves, of course, are 
granted only after the pupil has shown very good reasons for 
absence. 

Absences '' Absences from school may be excused on the follow- 
and En- Jng grounds only : (i) Leave of absence granted ; 
of the Com- (2) sickness of the child ; (3) inclement weather and 
puisory Law ^^^^^ blockade ; (4) sickness of both parents at the 
same time. 

The compulsory law is enforced in many ways if we consider 
the details of the process, but in general the following course is 
pursued. Two weeks before the day of enrollment each school 
receives a list of all pupils of school age in the district belonging 
to that particular school. This list is prepared by the police, 
and when new children move into the district, or when they move 
away, the police are acquainted with the fact and they in turn in- 
form the school authorities. When the school term begins, the 
school officials check off on this list the names of children who 
have not appeared, and then return the list to the poKce, who 
investigate the matter. 

Each teacher is required to keep an absentee record book 
{Versdumnisliste) , in which a very careful record of attendance is 
kept along with absences and the reasons therefor {i.e. i, fore- 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE III 

noon; — , afternoon; +, whole day; +., whole day with per- 
il 

mission ; — ., afternoon with permission ; +, whole day on account 
of sickness). On the second day of a pupil's absence, the janitor 
of the school is sent to see why the child does not appear, and 
if the boy is playing truant, the parents are warned or are 
fined. If necessary, the child may be brought to the school 
by force. 

The unexcused absences are transferred every week, every 
two weeks, or every month by the teacher from the absentee 
list to a special report form, and this is transmitted to the local 
school inspector, or to the principal of the school, who delivers 
such report to the local police authorities, the latter proceeding 
forthwith to the punishment of the parents. In some places the 
school commission has opportunity first to investigate the case, 
and then to warn the parents, or recommend their punishment 
to the police. 

The penalties are either a warning, a money fine, or imprison- 
ment. The first fine is usually from fifty pfennigs to three marks, 
that is, from twelve to seventy-five cents. If the parents cannot 
pay the fine, they are sent to jail for a period of from six hours 
up to two days. Money accruing from such fines is turned 
into the treasury of the school corporation, and utilized to 
buy books for poor children, or used to support the school 
library. 

The number of children who escape school in Germ_any is very 
small ; in fact, we might say that none do. Those who do avoid 
the lav/ are generally children of people living on coastwise 
steamers or river boats. The following table ^ shows how care- 
fully this law is enforced in Prussia. The figures are for 
187 1, 1891, 1901. The figures for 1911 were not available 
for this item, but the number of truants was no doubt 
smaller. 

1 Lexis, vol. Ill, p. 10. 



112 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF SCHOOL AGE IN PRUSSIA WHO ARE 
ENROLLED, EXCUSED, OR TRUANT 



Prussia 



Children of school age 

1. In Volksschulen ..,.,. 

Per cent 

2. In other schools 

Per cent 

3. Excused temporarily .... 

Per cent 

4. Not enrolled on account of crime 

Per cent 

5. Illegally out of school .... 

Per cent 



1871 



4,464,906 
3,900,655 
87.36 
222,211 

4.98 
312,219 
6.99 
9,038 
0.20 
20,783 
0.47 



5,401,566 

4,916,476 

91.02 

390,500 

7.23 

83,604 

1-55 
10,041 
0.18 

945 
0.02 



1 901 



6,103,745 

5,670,870 

92.91 

339,017 

5.55 

82,638 

1-35 
10,672 
0.18 

548 
o.oi 



Thus in 1901 less than one child out of every ten thousand 
managed in one way or another to escape the law. This high 
degree of efficiency in the enforcement of the law is due to the 
registration by the poHce of all children born, of every change 
of residence even for the very shortest periods of time, and to 
the close cooperation between the school and the police authori- 
ties. There are never questions about the child's age, because 
every child is registered the day it is born, and has a birth cer- 
tificate which is also registered, and which must be shown on 
demand until the person in question is dead and buried. We 
have not yet learned in America that the first requisites for an 
efficient compulsory school law are to know how many children 
there are, where they live, and their exact ages. 

Another very radical difference between a German compul- 
sory education law and those of some of our states is that in 
Germany a child must be in school all the time during the com- 
pulsory period, unless there is a legitimate excuse for absence, 
while in America a child may be absent from school a certain 
part of a year during the compulsory period, without being 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE II3 

obliged to furnish an excuse, or without being compelled to 
attend. This is the worst phase of our compulsory education 
laws, outside of the non-enforcement of such laws as we have. 

Vacations and Holidays 

The time and length of vacations is somewhat variable in the 
different parts of Prussia, because this matter is arranged by the 
several administrative counties and provinces, except Regular 
that the Minister of Education has issued orders, fix- Vacations 
ing in general the length of several vacations and setting a Hmit 
for the total number of school-free days. According to an order 
of March 19, 1904, the Minister prescribed that the total num- 
ber of days of vacation, including the holidays and Sundays fall- 
ing within those vacations, should be limited to seventy. As a 
rule, the Volksschulen receive a vacation of ten days at Christ- 
mas, twelve days at Easter, six at Whitsuntide, and six weeks 
in all for the summer and autumn vacations. In cities, the 
summer vacation is generally a Httle under five weeks, coming 
either in July or August, as best suits local conditions, while the 
autumn vacation of less than two weeks comes in October. 
This division of the long hoHdays is very different in the several 
provinces. In agricultural districts the vacations are arranged 
so as to fall as nearly as possible in harvest time, when the 
children can best be employed at home. During the harvest 
season, and even throughout the whole summer term, school 
sessions are often held only in the morning, leaving the pupils 
free for the greater part of the day. 

The following school calendar of Stettin for 1913 gives the 
general plan of the school year in the eastern part school 
of Germany, as far as the cities are concerned, al- Calendar 
though the calendar for country districts will vary somewhat 
from this. 



114 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

VACATIONS IN STETTIN VOLKSSCHULEN, 1913-1914 

Easter April 3-April 15 

Whitsuntide May 24-May 31 

Summer July 3-August 2 

■ Autumn October 5-October 16 

Christmas December 23-January 7 

Besides the vacations indicated, there is no school on the 
Emperor's birthday, Sedan Day, and primary election day for 
other the Landtag. The schoolrooms are sometimes used 

HoUdays fQj. voting booths on election day for the Reichstag, 
and in such cases the pupils are excused. These holidays just 
mentioned are granted in addition to the seventy. Catholic 
schools and Catholic children have also a number of feast days 
free, which the other schools do not have. 

Outside of the vacations and holidays mentioned, and Sun- 
days, of course, the children are in school all the rest of the year. 
Taking seventy-five (75) days, including the eleven Sundays 
within the vacations and the remaining forty-one Sundays, 
there are about one hundred sixteen days in the year when the 
German child is not in school. This leaves a total number of 
school days of two hundred fifty (250), and in some cases the 
whole number is larger than this. New York City has only 
two hundred days a year, and the average number of school days 
per year in South Carolina is not much more than one hundred. 
The number of weeks per school year in Germany and New 
York City is about the same, forty-two and forty, respectively, 
but the German school week has six days, while the school week 
in New York has but five. In a child's school life of eight years 
there is a total advantage for the German child of about four 
hundred school days over the child of New York City. That is 
a difference of two New York school years. The reader himself 
can compare the length of the German school year with condi- 
tions in various parts of America, and it will not take long to 
find one reason for superiority of the German elementary school. 



SCHOOL ATTENDANCE 115 

If the thermometer registers 25° C. (77° F.) in the shade at 
ten o'clock in the morning, school work on that day must be 
limited to four hours and children cannot be compelled vacations 
to come to school again in the afternoon.^ Since on Account 
schools usually begin in summer at seven a.m. on such 
occasions the schools will be dismissed at eleven o'clock a.m. 
The ''heat vacation" often occurs when the thermometer reads 
less than 77° F., if the rooms are crowded or the ceilings are low. 
The principal has the deciding voice in such matters in large 
cities, while the local school inspector decides in small towns 
and villages. The boys and girls always watch the thermometer 
very closely on warm summer days, hoping for an extra holiday. 
A boy said to me one day, "I wish we had some of the hot days 
that you have in America." 

Note. — Since this section on holidays and vacations was written, the 
Prussian Minister has issued another regulation regarding vacations.^ 
In part it reads as foUows : 

"i. The entire length of vacations, including Sundays and holidays 
falling therein, amounts to eighty days in the Volksschulen, middle, and 
higher schools, and also in the normal schools. Besides, the other recog- 
nized holidays and feast-days remain free. . . . 

"2. The length and time of the various vacations for all types of 
schools within the province or smaller units are determined uniformly 
by the president of the province, in connection with the Provincial School 
Board and the administrative county board." 

1 Min. Erl, vom 24 August, i8g2. 2 ZentralUatt, 1913, p. 826. 



CHAPTER VI 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 

School deputations, as a rule, issue regulations governing the 
general management of the elementary schools. These regula- 
tions are much the same in all large German cities, although the 
hours of beginning and closing, morning and afternoon sessions, 
and the like, vary according to local conditions. In the discus- 
sion of the management of the schools, it will be noticed that 
practically nothing is left to the discretion or decision of the 
principal or his teachers, who have merely to follow the rules 
laid down for them. To an American it is scarcely conceivable 
to what extent even the minutest details of school management 
are regulated by the higher authorities. It must be recognized, 
however, that the duties and responsibilities of the teachers are 
in this way reduced to a minimum, thus permitting the teacher 
to give the greatest amount of thought and attention to the 
actual business of instruction. 

The majority of Volksschulen have a morning session only, 
though there are very few school systems which do not have 
School some few classes in the afternoon. There are, of 

Sessions course, a great number of schools which have both a 
morning and an afternoon session, but it is invariably true that 
all of the difficult work is arranged for the morning hours, the 
easier subjects, such as drawing, music, sewing, and physical 
training, being placed in the afternoon schedule. 

In the winter semester, from October to April, schools having 
only a morning session begin generally at eight o'clock, and all 
classes are finished by one o'clock. This does not mean, how- 
ever, that all the pupils come at eight in the morning, for the 

ii6 



SCHOOL MANAGEMENT I17 

little children of the lower section often come at nine or ten 

o'clock, and are excused sometimes at twelve, some- 
Hours of 
times at one, all dependmg upon the arrangement of Beginning 

the weekly schedule. The pupils of the upper sections ont-^^°^^°^ 

may come at nine on one or two days in the week, or Session 

may be excused at twelve, if they have work in the 

afternoon. In general, the children are free in the afternoon. 

Eight o'clock seems a very early hour to begin school for 
little children, especially in northern Germany, where the winter 
days are extremely short and generally very dark and dull. Fre- 
quently school begins in the morning with lights, for without them 
it is impossible to distinguish the children across the room. 
Many of the little fellows seem half asleep during the first reci- 
tation, and it is no wonder, for they have come to school when 
the street lamps are still burning and there is scarcely a sign of day. 

In the cities where there are morning and afternoon sessions, 
schools usually begin at eight o'clock and continue 
until twelve, while the afternoon session lasts from Session 
two until four o'clock. The children of the lower sec- ^''^''''^^ 
tion rarely have classes in the afternoon even in the double 
session schools. 

During the summer semester the schools commence even 
earlier, the classes for the upper sections beginning at seven 
o'clock in the morning and remaining until twelve and some- 
times one o'clock. The lower section does not come until eight 
or nine. In some country schools, instruction begins as early 
as six o'clock in order that the larger pupils may be through with 
their work by ten or eleven, and thus be enabled to help the 
rest of the day in the fields. 

The following regulations ^ indicate the manner in conduct of 
which the children are supposed to conduct themselves *^® ^"p^^ 

to and from 

m gomg to and from school and while they are there : School 

* Hildesheimer Schulordnung. 



Ii8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

"i. ... By the time the bell stops ringing all pupils must be as- 
sembled in their respective classrooms. 

"2. The schoolhouses are opened a quarter of an hour before the 
beginning of school. The children go immediately to their rooms and 
take their seats. Loitering in front of the building, in the yard, or in 
the corridors before the beginning of instruction is not permitted. The 
children must move quietly and decorously inside the school building, 
all sorts of running or noise on the stairs, in the corridors, or classroom 
being strictly forbidden. 

"3. The signal for the close of school is given by a beU. The children 
leave the rooms and building quietly and in order. They are to refrain 
from any kind of misbehavior on the way to or from school, and, es- 
pecially, it is forbidden them to run recklessly along the streets, or to 
block the sidewalks by walking in groups." 

There is considerable tardiness in the German Volkssckulen, 

but no attention is given to it except when it becomes chronic 

with a pupil. In many cases tardinesses are not even 

Tardiness 

recorded, and the pupil frequently escapes without a 
reprimand. Tardiness, in any specific chronic case, is treated 
as an unexcused absence, and this probably accounts for the 
fact that not many children are habitually tardy, because the 
compulsory attendance law is rigidly enforced. 

The discipline is very severe in some respects, but in general 
the behavior of the children in the classroom is not any better 

than in the American schools, and in some particulars 

Discipline 1 -v-r ■,-, 1 t • t • • i i 

not so good. Naturally, the disciplme varies with the 
personality of the teacher. One might have the impression that 
the Volksschulen are disciplined on a military basis, but the very 
reverse is the impression one brings away after a visit. 

Whispering is universal ; indeed, no attempt is made to stop 
it, for the teachers sanction it, except when they themselves are 
talking, and then it is very seldom one sees a child whisper. 
As soon, however, as the teacher stops speaking, there is usually 
a great deal of communication among the pupils, which some- 
times amounts to disorder. 



SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 119 

The pupils, in their attitude toward and relations to the 
teacher, are always deferential on the surface, although 
as soon as the teacher's back is turned, one often sees PupUs to 
smirks and faces which are far from respectful. The ^^^ ^^^ 
pupils are never openly impudent, except perhaps in facial expres- 
sion, and they never utter a disrespectful word. 

When a teacher enters a room, the children must rise, and 
remain standing until the teacher leaves the room, or until they 
are given permission to be seated, in case the teacher remains 
in the room. The pupil must also stand when he is addressed by 
the teacher. When a girl wishes to speak to her teacher, at the 
desk or in the hallway, she must drop a curtsy before beginning 
to speak, and another when the conversation is closed. The 
boy in a similar case must make a very deep bow. On the 
street the children greet their teachers in the same manner. 
When a boy is speaking to his teacher he must always stand 
erect with his heels together and his hands at his side. It is a 
sign of ill breeding for a boy to address his elders with his hands 
in his pockets, and German teachers never fail to remind the 
youngster of any such shortcoming. 

The children in general are afraid of their teachers, for the 
German teacher is very dignified and authoritative. The pupils 
are always kept at a good distance and thoroughly impressed 
with the dignity and superiority of their teachers. They are 
frequently so afraid that they cannot recite freely or feel at ease 
in the presence of their teachers. This attitude of subjection 
on the part of the children is not always obtained by a mere 
show of dignity, but in far too many cases by shouts and blows. 

It is an almost universal characteristic of the German teacher 
to talk very loudly, and to yell when excited ; then, if shouts do 
not bring the desired results, to use his hand or the rod. One 
would not beHeve a person could so far forget himself as to yell 
at children, but when we say yell, we use it advisedly, for the 



I20 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

teacher uses every bit of lung power he possesses. While on the 
fourth floor, we have frequently heard recitations being held 
on the first. It must not be inferred that all German teachers 
so conduct themselves, but it is safe to say that half of them 
have the habit of frightening their pupils by shouting at them. 

Corporal punishment is not forbidden, and is rather widely 
practiced. ''School discipline must never be so severe as to 
Corporal amount to mistreatment which can be injurious in 
Punishment ^-^g slightest way to the health of the pupils." ^ A 
teacher may be fined or imprisoned, or both, for doing bodily in- 
jury to a pupil. Cases of bodily injury are very rare indeed, 
and in general there is a movement in Germany to do away 
with all severe forms of corporal punishment. 

The rod or ruler is still used in a great many schools. In fact 
this means of persuasion is very frequently in plain view in the 
classrooms. Whipping is rather rare in cities, but the country 
teachers resort to it very frequently. We saw one boy whipped 
in a hallway before all the children, although we have been told 
that whipping is generally done in private. 

Slapping children is very general. Not all the teachers do it, 
but a large number of them are accustomed to the practice. 
The slaps are not reserved for the boys alone, for the girls also 
receive their share. We recall several instances where three or 
four children were crying at one time, because they had been 
slapped or yelled at. It is safe to say that conditions were no 
better when there were no visitors. 

There are other forms of punishment, all of which are known 
to American teachers, such as standing children in corners, 
standing up for an hour, staying in after school, and the like. 
Teachers are permitted to keep pupils after school, provided 
they remain with their pupils and supervise their work. Sitting 

* Allgemeines Landrecht. Part II, Chap. 12, Sec. 50. Also Kabinetts Ordre vom 
14 Maif 1825. Found in Heinze : Im Amt, p. 213. 



I 



SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 1 21 

after school is generally limited to one hour. This form of dis- 
cipline is not greatly favored by the teachers, inasmuch as it 
entails a hardship upon the instructor himself. 

There is a rest period or recess after every recitation. Thus 
in a morning session of five periods, there would be four recesses, 
five minutes generally after the first period, twenty 

, , 1\.6C6SS6S 

after the second, ten after the third, and twenty agam 
after the fourth. Frequent recesses are necessary because of the 
length of the recitations, and because the children have no study 
periods at school. 

The short rests are used for airing the rooms and for giving 
the children a chance to move around either in their classes or in 
the court, not at all for play. The long recess in the middle of 
the morning, either at nine or at ten o'clock, is used for the 
second breakfast. Each child brings with him a piece of bread 
and butter, with cheese or meat, to be eaten during this 
recess. If the weather permits, all the children go out to 
the playground and eat their breakfast. They walk around 
four or five abreast under the supervision of their teachers, 
never breaking ranks except to get a drink of water or to go 
to the toilet. 

It is peculiar that this mid-morning promenade is common to 
all schools in Germany, and the direction is always counter- 
clockwise. To walk the other way would be a thing unheard of. 
Two American boys once caused a riot in a higher school by 
insisting on walking in the other direction. 

There is something to be said in favor of recess periods with- 
out play. If children play hard for fifteen minutes, the recita- 
tion which follows must suffer, because the children are warm, 
tired, and in no frame of mind to concentrate on school work. 
Recesses seem to make no break at all in the work in German 
schools, and it is no doubt owing to the fact that the children 
rest during these periods. 



k 



122 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The German child is never out of the eye of some teacher from 
the time school begins until it closes. Wherever children are, 
Supervision there is always a teacher whose business it is to watch 
by Teachers ^y^j. them. At recess periods, stairways, halls, and all 
parts of the building are assigned to different teachers who must 
see that the children behave properly and that no accidents 
occur. The same teacher is not always on duty, of course, for 
this work of supervision is divided among the several teachers, 
and it alternates from day to day. One reason for this strict 
supervision is that the teachers are liable for damages in case 
children are injured, and it can be proved that no teacher was on 
duty. 

The following regulations serve to show how minutely the 
management of the school is prescribed : ^ 

_ . 1 6. Instruction is begun and closed every day with song or 

prayer. The teachers must be very prompt with the beginning 
and close of work. 

17. Interruption (visits from parents or other persons) are to be 
avoided as far as possible. Also correction- work, filHng out of cards and 
lists (in so far as information is not required of the pupils) and other 
work, which would shorten the recitation time, must not be done during 
the recitation time. 

18. Home work is to be divided up among the different days of the 
week according to such a plan that any sort of overloading be avoided. 
Home work must not be assigned in the morning for the same afternoon. 
Home work for the lower section may require one half hour daily, an 
hour for the middle section, and an hour and a half for the upper section. 

20. The promotions, which take place every Easter, are discussed in 
special conferences under the direction of the principal and with the 
assistance of all teachers of the class, as well as of the teacher of the class 
higher, to which the class in question is promoted. In doubtful cases 
the principal decides after careful examination. As a rule children shall 
not remain longer than two years in a class. 

21. Every half-year, at Easter and Michaelmas, each child receives a 



^ Hildesheimer Schulordnung, 1910. 



I 



SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 123 

report-card, which must be signed by the parent or guardian and re- 
turned to the class-teacher on the first day after the vacation. 

22. Every class-teacher must keep the following records for purposes 
of administration and instruction : 

{a) A roll of his class with the vocation and address of the parents. 
(6) An absentee list, in which cases of absence and tardiness are 
noted. 

(c) A course of study, whose regulations serve as a standard for 

every teacher. 

(d) An outline of work to be taken up, which must be prepared 

before the beginning of each half-year. 

{e) A report {Lehrhericht) , in which the work finished during the 
week must be noted. 

(/) A record, in which every half-year the marks for attendance, 
conduct, industry, order, and proficiency in all the different 
school subjects must be registered. In columns designated 
"Remarks," the necessary information concerning the 
reasons and date of withdrawal of children must be re- 
corded. 

(g) A record for punishments and fines (Strafverzeichnis) . 

{h) A daily schedule and inventory of school property in the 
room. Both of these must be hung up in the room. 

{i) A record of school equipment. 

23. School attendance is to be taken every day, after the end of the 
first period. In registration of absences the teacher uses the prescribed 
designations. 

24. Sickness always excuses absences, but such cases must be re- 
ported to the class-teacher by word of mouth or by letter at the latest on 
the second day of absence. The teacher may require a doctor's certifi- 
cate in regard to the length and nature of the illness. 

25. A leave of absence, which must be obtained in advance, is re- 
quired for all other absences. Such leave is granted by the teacher for 
not more than three days, by the principal up to fourteen days, and for 
a longer time by the Stadtschulinspektor . 

26. If circumstances make it impossible in especially urgent cases 
to obtain the leave of absence in advance, it must be obtained immedi- 
ately after the first day of absence and the reasons therefor must be 
presented at this time. At all events the parents must be accustomed 
to asking for leave of absence only in case of necessity. 



124 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



1 



27. If the parents or their representatives neglect to obtain the leave 
or fail to give notice of cases of illness, such absences shall be considered 
as unexcused, and shall be treated as such. 

28. Continued tardiness of pupils will be considered as unexcused 
absences, in case the fault is the parent's and the teacher's warnings have 
had no efifect. 

29. Just as soon as the breaking out of a contagious disease (cholera, 
dysentery, measles, rash, scarlet fever, diphtheria, smallpox, spotted 
fever, intermittent fever, typhoid, contagious inflammation of the eyes, 
itch, and whooping cough) is ascertained by the doctor in a household 
whose children attend the Volksschule, the parents or their representatives 
are obliged to inform the principal thereof as soon as possible, along with 
the doctor's certificate as to the nature of the disease. Children who 
suffer from one of the diseases named above are excluded from school. 
Well children in the same household are also excluded, if in their house 
there is a case of one of the first nine diseases mentioned. It must be 
officially certified by the doctor that the children are sufficiently pro- 
tected from danger by isolation. Children who have been excluded from 
school for reasons mentioned above are admitted again only when the 
doctor certifies that the danger of contagion is past, or the customary 
time for the course of the disease has elapsed. Six weeks is considered 
the regular duration of scarlet fever and smallpox; four weeks for 
measles and rash. 

30. Unexcused absences are transferred from the absentee list on the 
first and fifteenth of every month and handed to the principal. 

31. Withdrawal from school is allowed ordinarily only at the close 
of each half year, Easter and Michaelmas. In order that the names may 

With- be struck from the school roll, parents are required to inform 

drawals the principal of the intended withdrawal several days before 

the close of the term. The principal gives the parents a certificate of 
dismissal and the teachers are notified of the withdrawals. The en- 
rollment certificate is presented at the time of withdrawal. 

32. The transfer of children in the Volksschule from one school ward 
in the city to another is allowed only at the beginning of the half-year, 

_. , and then only in case the parents have moved to another 

ward. Still in order to bring about an equalization of over- 
crowded classes in the different schools, a transfer of children may be 
arranged by the principals, with the consent of the city school inspector. 
The request of parents for transfer is to be laid before the principal of the 



SCHOOL MANAGEMENT 125 

old school, and the request for enrollment in the new school is laid before 
the principal of the latter. In both cases the old enrollment certificate 
is presented. 

For the purpose of keeping watch over school attendance, the prin- 
cipal of the school which the child leaves must inform the principal of 
the new school of the transfer immediately. 

All the foregoing details show to what extent the real manage- 
ment of the school has been removed from the hands of the 
teachers. The most that can be said in favor of such a 

Conclusion 

system is that it works well. Teachers know precisely 
what is expected of them ; there is no shifting of responsibiUty ; 
and the school runs without any friction, thus allowing the 
teachers to devote themselves entirely to the business of teaching. 



CHAPTER VII 
SCHOOL HYGIENE 

The medical and sanitary control of all Volksschulen, middle 
schools, and higher girls' schools is in the hands of the district 
School physicians. These physicians must inspect the sani- 

Physicians ^^j.y ^^^ health conditions of every school in the dis- 
trict, alternately in summer and winter, at least once in every 
five years. Under their supervision come matters relating to 
school architecture, size of rooms, ventilation, lighting, heating, 
cleaning, seating, toilets, playgrounds, gymnasiums, drinking 
arrangements, as well as the health conditions of the individual 
pupils.^ This inspection is not very frequent, but in most 
places each school has local inspection by a doctor, and the 
teacher is also instructed how to proceed in cases of obvious ill- 
ness or poor health. In the large cities, and in smaller ones, 
too, one finds school doctors assigned to particular schools. It 
is these physicians who have most to do with the matter of 
hygiene in the Volksschulen. 

It is the school physician's duty to examine each child upon 
the child's entrance in school as to his mental and physical con- 
. dition. Children who are deficient in any way are 
School kept under the strict supervision of the doctor and the 

teacher. Such examinations are always conducted in 
the presence of the children's parents. The doctor must in- 
spect the school at least twice every half year and acquaint him- 
self with the hygienic conditions of the school and of the children, 
especially of those children who have been under medical care. 

^Art. 94, Dienstanweisung fur die Kreisdrzte vom 23, Marz, igoi. 

126 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 127 

The school doctor is not allowed to treat the children whom he 
has examined. 

The Germans act very promptly in all cases of sickness of 
contagious character which appear in any community and par- 
ticularly in the schools. A child who has the faintest 
symptom of an illness is examined immediately and is schools 
quarantined, if the disease proves to be contagious. £^^°^ . 
There are very definite regulations governing the isola- 
tion period of such diseases as measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, 
and typhoid fever. In cases of epidemic the principal can close 
his school without permission from any higher authority. 

Every German child must be vaccinated for the first time 
before his second birthday, and every pupil of all public and 
private schools must submit himself to a second 

Vaccination 

vaccination during his twelfth year. The records of 
vaccination are kept by the police, so no one has the least 
chance of escape, not only for this reason, but also because 
the vaccination certificate is demanded of German citizens 
very frequently. This certificate is always one of the re- 
quired documents before all civil service examinations. By 
strict use of vaccination smallpox has become a very rare 
disease in Germany. The cases that do occur are generally 
brought in by persons coming from some of Germany's less 
sanitary neighbors. 

There is a great movement under way now in all Germany 
for temperance. No one thinks of prohibition, although there 
are a very large number of Germans who do not drink 

... n -r^ 1 • Alcoholism 

alconouc beverages at all. Drunkenness is much less 
common in Germany than in any other European country, unless 
we except Turkey. The schools and private societies are carry- 
ing on a vigorous campaign against drunkenness and the exces- 
sive use of alcohoUc beverages. Time is taken both in nature 
study and in physiology to show the evil effects of too much 



128 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

alcohol upon the human body, and upon the economic condition 
of the family in which drunkenness is prevalent. Children of 
school age are generally allowed only a moderate use of beer and 
a little wine occasionally. There are many parents, however, 
who, though they may use beer and wine themselves, do not 
permit their younger children to do so. Instruction in school 
concerning alcohol is never carried to the fanatical extremes that 
it is sometimes in this country. 

The most vigorous health campaign in Germany concerns 
itself with tuberculosis and diseases of the respiratory tract, all 
Tubercuio- of which diseases are extremely prevalent. First of all, 
^^^ school children are brought up not to expectorate on 

the sidewalks, in public buildings, and on the floor. The Ger- 
man people have been educated away from promiscuous expec- 
toration, and in this one respect we Americans can learn an 
important lesson from them. Training in the schools is largely 
responsible for this German virtue. Every schoolroom, every 
stairway, and every corridor has a spittoon in which there is water. 
This receptacle is emptied every day. Both teachers and pupils 
must use the spittoons for purposes of expectoration ; especially 
is this regulation to be enforced with regard to children who 
have a cough. With reference to the injuriousness of collection 
of dust, attention must be given that the regulations having to 
do with the removal of dust from rooms by some damp sub- 
stance are rigidly enforced.^ 

Not only are precautions taken against dust and spitting in 
the schools, but ample provision is made for those children who 
Tubercu- ^^^^ attention for tubercular troubles. In almost 
losis every town there is a free clinic or provision for ex- 

amination for children and persons who believe them- 
selves to be afflicted in any way by tuberculosis. There are also 
a great many homes and free hospitals, supported both by state, 

^ Verfiigung von der Regierung zu Diisseldorf, 1891. 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 129 

city, and private funds, for the treatment of tubercular cases. 
(See p. 147 ff.) 

It is the ordinary practice in Germany to locate the school 
as near the middle of the school district as possible. In the 
cities the schools are located most frequently on streets ^ . . 

^ '' ^ Position of 

which do not have much traffic and where there is as Building 
little noise as possible. In this respect a great many 
schools we have visited were not successful, due most often to 
the fact that the pavement was generally of cobblestones and 
hence extremely noisy. In some cities where asphalt was used 
there was little or no noise about the schools. Sometimes heavy 
trucks and carts are not allowed to drive near schoolhouses 
during school hours. In the country schoolhouses are invariably 
located in villages, never out in the open fields as is common in 
America. 

The school site is always selected with light and drainage in 
mind. Sites are avoided where there are lakes or graveyards 
which might in any way pollute the drinking water 
supply. Likewise schools are never placed close to of^sife**' 
factories, which through noise, smoke, odors, or dust 
could militate against the sanitary conditions of the school. 

The school site is always large enough to accommodate all the 
buildings, including the schoolliouse, the well, the toilets, and 
storehouse. A playground must also be provided. As a rule 
the playground is large enough to give each child three (3) square 
meters of space and in no case must less than one and five 
tenths square meters be provided. All the school buildings must 
be so placed on the site that buildings erected on neighboring 
property cannot interfere with the light and ventilation of the 
school. All school building walls, the windows of which are used 
for light for schoolrooms, must be at least eight meters distant 
from any neighboring building. We could find no general prac- 
tice when it came to the direction the building should face, but 



I30 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the windows ordinarily got their Hght from the south and the 
west. 

The one-class school is the rule in rural sections of Germany. 
It is customary that the school building in small towns and 
P villages have several rooms for the teachers in addi- 

Schooi- tion to the recitation room or rooms. One finds all 
sorts of combinations of schoolrooms and lodgings. A 
one-class school ordinarily has three or four rooms for a married 
teacher's lodging, in addition to storerooms and a kitchen. 
The unmarried teacher receives a less spacious lodging. The 
entrance to the teacher's lodging is separate from that used by 
the children. In four or five room country schools there are 
sometimes lodgings for all teachers, then again for only a part 
of them. 

The width of the hallways is generally rather great in order 

to accommodate the children at recess time in rainy weather, 

when the hallways are used for exercising. This is 

especially true of the newer buildings. If the hall 

leads to several rooms, it is generally two and a half (2.5) meters 

wide. 

The size of the room, with reference to floor space, depends 
upon the number, arrangement, and size of each desk, the aisles, 
Size of 3,nd the position of the door and of the stove, if there 

Rooms |3g Qj^g^ Ordinarily in a one-class school there cannot 

be more than eighty children in a room, and in a school with 
more than one room, not more than seventy pupils are allowed 
to each room. The commonest dimensions of the modern Ger- 
man schoolroom are 9 meters long by 6 meters wide by 4 meters 
high, or about 216 cubic meters of air space. The space allowed 
each seat is about .5 meter by .7 meter. The room's dimen- 
sions are ordinarily painted on the wall for use in arithmetic. 
Such rooms are supposed to accommodate about fifty children, 
but one usually finds a larger number than that. Rooms of these 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 131 

standard dimensions are found in the modern buildings, while 
rooms of any size and description are common in all of the 
older structures. The country schoolrooms are as varied as 
they are in America. 

The first row of seats is at least 1.7 meters from the front 
wall; the last row at least .3 meter from the rear wall; the 
space between seats and the window wall at least .4 

T . , 1, . 1 -, . open Space 

meter; the middle aisles are at least .5 meter in 
width ; the space between the seats and the window wall is at 
least .6 meter. The teacher's desk is ordinarily placed so 
as to give a good view of the children and the door. The 
stove is generally near the wall opposite the windows. The 
minimum distance between the stove and the nearest seat is 
.8 meter. 

By far the larger number of schoolrooms in Germany are 4 
meters in height; the minimum is 3.20 meters. The height of 
the schoolroom must be such that each child shall Height of 
have at least 2.5 cubic meters of air space. The dis- ■^°°™ 
tance from the top of the window to the floor must be at least 
one half the width of the room. These regulations are observed 
with very few exceptions. 

The lighting system in all modern German schools is uni- 
lateral, and in a great many of the buildings constructed as 
much as forty or fifty years ago. The total window 
surface must in general equal one fifth, and in some 
cases one sixth, of the total floor space of the room. The left 
side wall is usually the source of light. The distance between 
windows is never more than 1.2 meters. The window sill is never 
less than one meter in height, and the windows reach as near 
the ceiling as possible. Rooms getting light from the north ordi- 
narily have windows in the rear of the room, but such window 
space is not reckoned with the north windows in getting the 
proper proportion of window space. 



132 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The percentage of school children in the Volksschule who 
have weak eyes is very large. We have been unable to ascer- 
E i ht f ^^^^ ^^^ cause, inasmuch as the lighting of the school 
School- buildings is scientifically correct and the amount of 
home work is rather small. It is our opinion that 
poor food, poor ventilation in the school, and poor lighting in the 
home are largely the causes of the great number of children 
who wear glasses and have weak eyes. The teachers are always 
careful to seat the children with poor eyesight as near the front 
of the room as possible. The community very often provides 
free optical treatment for poor children and even provides 
glasses if necessary. 

Practically all German schoolrooms are provided with arti- 
ficial Hght. This is necessary in Germany because of the abnor- 
Difficuities mally great number of cloudy, foggy days in winter, 
of Lighting especially in northern Germany. During the winter 
months daylight comes very late in the morning and dusk comes 
very early in the afternoon. We remember that frequently on 
winter mornings we were unable to recognize children whom we 
passed on the way to school owing to the darkness. It was also 
common to burn the lights in the schoolrooms for over an hour 
after the opening of school and sometimes all day long. Not 
only is the lighting problem made difficult on account of the 
shortness of the day, but also because of the extreme cloudiness 
which prevails in Germany in winter. In BerHn from the first 
of October to the first of April there are rarely ever more than 
three hundred hours of sunshine. These facts may have some- 
thing to do with the prevalence of poor eyes among the Germans. 

The walls and ceilings are generally painted or treated with a 
preparation that will not come off easily. The walls are usually 
The Walls Hght, greenish gray, light gray, or light green. Some- 
and CeiUngs times a somewhat darker color is used on the lower 
part of the walls. This panel is generally four or five feet high. 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 133 

In other cases wood or beaver board is used as wainscoting. 
The ceiHng is usually white. These are the conditions in the 
better schools. In a very large number of schools the walls are 
a very dingy, unattractive gray, and are often none too clean. 

The blackboard on all sides of the room in German schools is 
practically unknown. There is always a blackboard on part of 
the front wall. (See p. 44.) The teachers do not seem to see 
the advantage of much blackboard space. This is due to the 
method in teaching. In the Arheitsschule at Dortmund, where 
the children did a large part of the work, the teachers felt the 
need of more board space, and they were using crayon on the bare 
painted walls. They knew what they needed, but could not get it. 

One of the worst features in the German schoolhouses, except 
in the new ones, are the floors. They are usually made of floor- 
ing five or six inches in width. Boards of such width 

° . Floors 

have a tendency to warp and leave cracks which serve 
for accumulation of dirt and dust. The floors are often very 
rough and tend to sphnter badly. These conditions are very 
prevalent in rural communities and in older buildings of the 
cities. In the more modern school structures there is a tendency 
to do away entirely with wood as flooring material, particularly 
in the halls. A heavy composition flooring, a kind of Knoleum, 
is widely used. Hardwood floors are also very popular and are 
treated generally with hnseed oil and shellac. The linoleum 
floor is perhaps not so durable as the wood, but can be cleaned 
easily, and is warm and noiseless. 

The ventilation is the worst sanitary feature of the German 
Volkssckulen. The German is dreadfully afraid of a draft. 
He desires lots of fresh air while he is outside, but Heating and 
once inside the windows are usually kept closed. Ventilation 
There are only a comparatively few schools in Germany in 
which the ventilating system is organically connected with the 
heating system. In the country schools, stoves are the uni- 



134 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

versal method of heating and the ventilation is entirely by means 
of windows. Without exception, unless on days when there is 
no heat needed and the windows are all open, the air is ex- 
tremely bad in German country schools. Many days we have 
suffered headache and nausea from being compelled to sit in 
rooms that were unventilated. Sometimes there was a little 
air hole at the top of the room and one at the bottom, but these 
were usually closed. In all schools the windows were always 
thrown open between classes, that is, once every hour, and the 
rooms were thus filled with fresh air. As soon as the classes 
reassembled, however, everything was usually shut up tight 
and in ten minutes the air was almost as bad as before. In 
every room there are instructions deahng with the regulation of 
the windows and air holes, but in the main these regulations are 
disregarded. Tilted window panes are rather common in the 
schools, by use of which fresh air can be obtained without caus- 
ing a direct draft on a child sitting next the window. We may 
have been unfortunate in our schools, but of the several hundred 
visited we did not find one in which there was a forced draft 
system of ventilation. The gravity system of ventilation is 
used in quite a number of schools, but these are only a small 
percentage of the total number. The reason for a great deal of 
the poor ventilation is that it saves coal and fuel to use vitiated 
air, while fresh, warm air costs a large amount in cold weather. 

There is another reason for bad air in German V olksschulen 
which would be apparent only to one who has to endure it and 
cieanUness wonder about the causes. To have pure air the chil- 
and Bad Air ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^j^^^^^ j^^ ^^^ ^.^^.^j sections of the Em- 
pire and in river districts there are a great many people who 
know nothing whatever about personal cleanliness when it comes 
to baths. Some of the children bathe once a week, but most of 
them bathe once a month and some not at all. The outer cloth- 
ing of a great many children is none too clean. A great many 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 135 

children bring lunches to school which consist of cheese and 
Wurst. These are some of the contributing elements in the bad 
air so prevalent in German schools. 

Every schoolroom has a thermometer hung about five feet 
from the floor on the wall opposite the windows. A tempera- 
of 18° C. (65° F.) is maintained. In the newer Tempera- 
schools the thermometer is in an opening in the wall ^^® 
next the corridor so that it can be seen by the janitor without 
entering the room. 

Fully eighty per cent of the schoolrooms of Germany are 
heated by stoves. The remainder are heated by steam, hot air, 
or hot water. Ordinarily one never sees an iron stove 

Heating 

in the schoolroom, but generally the large tile stoves, 
which are much better adapted for the purpose, because they 
maintain a very constant heat and are less expensive. These 
stoves are made of tile, are about ten or twelve feet high, and 
about three feet square. Once such a stove gets warm, it stays 
warm for a long time, and the temperature is very even. 

The seating arrangements in most German schools are gener- 
ally poor. Very few rooms are provided with individual seats. 
In the higher grades there are generally two or four 

Seats 

children at one desk, but very frequently eight in the 
lower grades. In most instances the back of the seat is per- 
fectly straight and the seat is at right angles to it and so narrow 
that it supports about half of the leg between the knee and hip. 
The tops of the desks are in the main satisfactory. Very few of 
the seats can be raised. The seats which accommodate four or 
more are all in one piece and are just a bench with the desk top 
in front. It can easily be seen how difiicult it is for the boy on 
the inside of such seats to get out. To do so he must climb over 
three or four boys. It is not only inconvenient, but it takes 
lots of time. On account of not being able to raise the seat, 
the children on the inside seats can never stand straight while 



136 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

reciting. There are a great many patent desks in Germany, 
but school boards are loath to spend money for them. It was 
not our good fortune to see one single room in the German schools 
which was at all satisfactory with regard to seats. We have 
been told of rooms which were well seated and have no reason 
to beHeve that such is not the case, but such rooms are exceed- 
ingly rare. 

The recitations in the Volksschule are as a rule forty-five to 
fifty-five minutes in length. In the lower classes, although 
Hygiene of the recitation period is fifty minutes in length, the 
Instruction character of the work is changed every ten or fifteen 
minutes so that the children do not become very tired. In the 
upper classes the whole time is usually taken up with one sub- 
ject. There is a recess period between each recitation varying 
Length of from five to twenty minutes. No violent exercise is 
^^y allowed during recess periods, and the children come 

back to the next recitation really refreshed. There are no study 
periods in the Volksschulen, where there is a teacher for each class. 
This necessitates constant recitation periods throughout the 
school day. Since a large part of the work calls for close atten- 
tion and much memorization, the pupil is under a considerable 
strain after four or five hours of such work and shows signs of 
physical fatigue. The lower section has 20-22 hours' work a week, 
the middle section 28-30 hours, and the upper section 30-32 hours. 
From the two upper sections this means five hours a day for six 
days, but since there is no school on Saturday and Wednesday 
afternoons, it puts more than five hours' work on some days. 

In summer, that is from Easter until after the October vaca- 
tion, school begins at seven a.m. in the majority of communi- 
_ , ties and is all over by twelve or one o'clock, while in 

Hours of ^ -'^ ' 

Beginning winter the schedule is just one hour later. Some coun- 
an osing ^^^ schools begin in summer as early as six o'clock in 
the morning for the larger children, who may be needed for 



SCHOOL HYGIENE 137 

help in the harvest fields. These children are excused at ten 
or eleven o'clock. The little children rarely ever come at 
seven o'clock, but generally at eight or nine. The beginning 
hour in many cases seemed very early to the writer. During 
the first recitation the Httle children were so sleepy that they 
did little else than yawn. The afternoons are free for the ma- 
jority of children. If there is an afternoon session, there are 
always two hours between that and the morning session. Sub- 
jects such as drawing, manual training, and physical training are 
put on the afternoon schedule. 

When the temperature in the shade reaches 77° F. (25° C.) 
by ten a.m. the schools are dismissed for the remainder Heat Vaca- 
of the day. The temperature rarely goes above that ^°^^ 
mark. 

The German teacher gives particular attention to the posi- 
tion which the child assumes in the schoolroom. Lounging in 
seats is absolutely never seen, and when the child _ .^ 

•' ' ^ ^ Position 

stands to recite, he stands as straight as he possibly during Red- 
can. He keeps his shoulders back, his chest out, and 
his hands by his side. The military spirit which pervades 
Germany may have something to do with the correct physical 
attitude in the classroom. At times the children appear al- 
most too stiff, but even that is preferable to careless physical 
posture. 

The teaching methods employed in the Volksschulen bring it 
about that much home work is not required. The children in 
the lower section have practically none ; the middle 

^ ^ Home Work 

and upper sections rarely have more than a half or 
three quarters of an hour. The home work that is done is 
always easy, either solving problems which have been explained 
in class as far as the methods are concerned, or in writing short 
essays the subject matter of which has been thoroughly dis- 
cussed in class. 



138 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

American children ordinarily have a great load of books to 
carry to and from school every day. This custom often leads to 
Carrying of evil effects on the spine and shoulders, since the chil- 
Books ^j-gn usually carry them under the arm, and generally 

under the same arm. The German child never has as many 
books as the American child, and almost without exception he 
carries them in a satchel on his back held in position by straps 
which go over the shoulders and under the arms. This seems a 
much better way to carry books, and all dangers of lateral curva- 
ture of the spine are avoided. 

The hygiene of the special subjects of instruction is men- 
special tioned in the respective chapters. The study of 
Subjects hygiene itself is treated in a separate chapter, as are 
such topics as swimming, recreation centers, free food, and the 
like. 

The average sanitary condition of the German schools is far 
above that of the American school, but in no case are the con- 
ditions as good as in our best schools. In matters per- 
taining to seating and ventilation the German schools 
are distinctly inferior; toilet facilities are poor; and heating 
systems are bad in at least sixty per cent of the schools. In other 
respects the German schools are rather satisfactory. As far as 
sanitary theory is concerned, the Germans are preeminent, but 
practice lags far behind on account of lack of funds. 



CHAPTER VIII 
EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 

One would get a very false impression of the forces at work 
toward the education and uplift of the lower classes in Germany, 
if one thought that the Volksschide were the only such force 
worthy of consideration. Sometimes we are led to believe that 
the Volksschule may not be even the most important, but such 
a statement could not be proven and would be very rash. In 
order, however, that one may better understand the function 
and place of the Volksschule^ it seems necessary to mention a 
few of the extracurricular and benevolent activities which vitally 
affect the lives of those who receive their formal education in 
the Volksschulen. 

The continuation school system in Prussia and in other states 
of the Empire is a very potent factor in the life of the lower 
classes. More and more the continuation school 
is becoming responsible for the vocational training S^^g^^^'i 
of the young, both boys and girls, between the ages 
of fourteen and seventeen. There are continuation schools 
of many types. Some of them are the general, in which merely 
the subjects of the Volksschule are continued, the industrial, 
the commercial, the agricultural, and the domestic science. As 
the reader will notice, the courses of study in the Volksschulen 
contain very little that is technical or that can directly be 
applied in pursuit of a trade or calling, and it is purposely so. 
In order to prepare the youth of the land for their future work, 
opportunity is given in the continuation school during the time 

139 



I40 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

of apprenticeship for the acquirement of both theoretical and 
practical knowledge along many lines of endeavor. In Berlin, 
to boys between fourteen and seventeen, in 1914, there were 
open one hundred and eight different courses for as many dif- 
ferent pursuits. There were also a great many trade courses 
for girls. In some places attendance is voluntary, but in the 
majority of places, both in the city and in the country, children 
on leaving the Volksschule at fourteen are required to report 
immediately to the continuation school to prepare for their voca- 
tions. These schools are only part-time schools, and the hours 
are late in the afternoon or evening, so that the pupils may be 
working and attending school at the same time. Employers 
are required to give their apprentices time off in which to attend 
school. Thus the education of the child in the majority of 
places in Germany is provided and compulsory from the age of 
six to seventeen. These continuation or trade schools are the 
schools which prepare the apprentices to become journeymen 
and the schools which prepare the young men for entrance to 
the middle technical schools. The boys who are apprentices 
in shoemaking, carpentry, goldsmithing, printing, and the like 
must attend the continuation schools. 

The more efficient and ambitious apprentice at the age of 
seventeen leaves the continuation and is free to enter a techni- 
cal or trade school of the middle class, which he may 
Technical attend, if he will, for two or three years. Such schools 
Schoois^^ are for forestry, gardening, cabinet and furniture 
making, jewelry, printing, book making, and many 
other trades. In these schools he becomes a master workman. 

Thus it is seen that the boy is provided for from the age of 
six until seventeen, and if he wishes, until twenty in different 
types of schools. During all the formulative period the state 
keeps its watch over him, guides his actions, and controls his 
thinking. The ordinary boy is free from school at seventeen, 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 141 

and then comes the educative element which exerts more in- 
fluence than any other save the Volksschule, — army service. 

When the German lad enters upon his eighteenth year he is 
eligible to army service for two years. This has no reference 
to those boys who attend the higher (secondary) Army 
schools. About one half of the youths of the country Service 
actually in times of peace serve. Some are physically unfit 
and some are *'put back" for one reason or another. Those 
who are merely "put back" can be called out for training in 
time of war. We are particularly interested in the educative 
influence of two years in the army on the youth of the country. 

In the first place, the army service is generally conceded to 
be the most severe test and course of training that could well 
be devised. Any man who can stand two years' training in the 
German army need have no fears as to his physical stamina. 
The service is about as near actual warfare as could be imagined 
as regards rigor of discipline and physical activity. The men are 
put through long and trying physical exercises, marching, drill- 
ing, and gymnastics. No matter what the other advantages 
and disadvantages may be, there is no room for doubt as to the 
very definite physical benefit derived by the men who serve. 

The spiritual effect is even more noticeable and is more lasting 
than the physical. The rigid discipline of army service makes 
the man responsive to commands, obedient to authority, crushes 
individuality, and accustoms him to action in groups. Physical 
obedience reflects on the psychical reactions. These are the 
less tangible effects of military training. Service in the army 
makes most of the men patriotic and proud of the machine of 
which they are a part. It inspires them to see the army in action 
during maneuvers; it impresses them with Germany's power 
to know that two or three million men can be moblized in six 
or eight hours, and five or six million within a week. Aside 
from these results derived from military service the men receive 



142 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

a great deal of actual class instruction from their ofHcers concern- 
ing military tactics, machine construction and repairing, building 
roads, bridges, telegraph and telephone lines, aeroplanes, boats, 
and all phases of activities which are connected with the Ger- 
man mihtary machine. The German army is a school, which is 
the capsheaf of the great educational system which turns out 
^'God-fearing, patriotic, self-supporting subjects of imperial 
Germany." 

From the national point of view Jugendpflege is a new move- 
ment. The term, best translated ''youth welfare," denotes 
Jugend- a movement which takes care of the youth of the 
pftege country after the compulsory school period, between 

the ages of fourteen and seventeen or twenty. 

There had been a great many local organizations prior to 191 1 
which were interested in the recreational life of boys and 
girls outside of school hours, but the movement, which was seen 
to have vast importance for the nation's welfare, lacked organi- 
zation and system. Accordingly in 191 1 the Minister of Educa- 
tion issued orders ^ with reference to a nationalization of the 
movement and promised government support to all movements, 
clubs, associations, which had at heart the welfare, spiritual 
and physical, of the boys and girls who had just left school and 
were employed in various occupations. The money to support 
such organizations is supplied by local, private, and public gifts 
and levies. 

I. The purpose of the Youth Welfare movement is cooperation in 

the bringing up of happy, morally and physically efficient youth, filled 

.. with civic pride, fear of God and love for home and the 

Aim , ' 

Fatherland. It desires to support, supplement, and fur- 
ther the educational activity of the home, the school, the church, the 
employer, and the ruler. 

3. The necessary means are provided by friends and patrons of the 
youth, by cities and districts, and in a supplementary way by the state. 

^ Zentralblatt, 19 11, p. 345. 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 143 

4. The care of the youth who have been excused from school attend- 
ance compasses the ages from fourteen until entrance into the army, or 
until twenty years of age. The younger three-year group will be divided, 
where possible, from the older three-year group. 

The ministerial order goes ahead to explain why such a move- 
ment is necessary. On account of the economic and social con- 
ditions of a great many of the youth, little or no time or oppor- 
tunity is afforded for their physical and recreational activities. 
A very large number of such boys, and girls too, devote all 
their spare time to aimless dissipation, and soon fall into evil 
habits. Something to do that is valuable is the only way to 
put that which is deleterious out of a child's life. Accordingly 
the Minister recommended some of the following means : ^ 

7. Acquirement of rooms for the establishment of homes or clubs 
for gatherings of young boys and girls during periods of recreation and 
provision of opportunities for writing, reading, play, and other activities. 
EstabHshment of libraries for the youth. Evenings for music, lectures, 
reading and singing, theatrical productions, and especially provision for 
the right sort of socials and parties. 

Use of opportunities offered in a locality for popular education, such 
as museums, with proper guidance and visiting of monuments and other 
historical, geographical, and scientific objects of interest. 

Provision of manual training shops. Provision of playgrounds and 
covered rooms for physical exercise?. ... If possible free baths, swim- 
ming, and skating. General education in all sorts of physical activities 
according to season, locality, and opportunity. Besides gymnastics, 
games, walks and tours, also swimming, snowshoeing, skating, and coast- 
ing are to be recommended. 

In addition to the activities already mentioned, teachers very 
often form classes in shorthand, German, history, or in any other 
subject which may be in demand. 

The interest in the ''Youth Welfare" movement has grown 
with great rapidity. Courses have been opened throughout 

1 Zentralhlatty 1911, p. 347. 



144 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Prussia for the preparation of leaders of boys' and girls' 
organizations. In 19 13 over twenty-two thousand persons had 
voluntarily taken these courses. These volunteers 
come from all classes, chiefly from the class of elemen- 
tary school teachers, but also from other callings, which shows 
the general interest in the work. The normal schools of Prussia 
are now preparing their teachers to take part in the "movement 
and offer definite instruction to accompHsh this end. This is 
generally done by organizing the youth of the community in 
which the normal school is located and by organizing similar 
activities within the normal school, the normal preparatory 
and practice school. 

Some of the commoner activities of the "Youth Welfare" 

movement are as follows : school savings banks ; use of a library ; 

games and contests for free afternoons ; toars and 

Activities • 

excursions; war and cross-country games; skatmg, 
coasting, and snowshoeing; swimming; manual training; 
care of plants and gardening ; classes in shorthand and writing ; 
gymnastics; singing; excursions to industrial plants; social 
gatherings ; parlor games ; holiday celebrations. 

Jungdeutschland (Young Germany) is an organization for 
boys with much the same purposes and characteristics as the 
Jung- Boy Scout Organization in America and England, 

deutschiand except that it is somewhat more highly organized. 
It is one of the activities allied with the ''Youth Welfare" move- 
ment, except that Jungdeutschland is open to boys who are 
still in school and who usually come from the better classes 
of society. Jungdeutschland is an organization chiefly for the 
physical and moral betterment of its members for patriotic and 
national purposes. It is very mihtary in organization and 
method and has for its head Field Marshal Freiherr von der 
Goltz, one of Germany's most noted and popular soldiers. 

Such movements as have just been described are by no means 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 145 

new to America, but in point of organization and general effec- 
tiveness the Germans excel us. Movements for the betterment 
of the youth in Germany have been nationalized, because the 
utmost importance of saving the next generation has been 
recognized in high places. In America all such movements are 
spasmodic, at best poorly organized, and open to only a small 
portion of our youth. Almost no provision is made here for 
training of proper leaders for the work outside of the Y.M.C.A. 
and the Boy Scouts. 

There are other activities which demand the attention of 
the student of German schools. Among these the special schools 
for children are important. Reference has already h 1 f 
been made to auxiliary classes for mentally deficient Abnormal 
children in another chapter, and also as to the Mann- 
heim system and similar systems, which make provision for the 
brighter as well as the duller children. The number of children 
in auxiliary classes runs very high, and there are either schools 
or classes of this type in practically all German cities and towns 
of more than ten thousand population. 

Courses for stammerers and stutterers among the children of 
the Volksschulen were first organized in Germany in a great many 
cities in the eighties of the nineteenth century. Min- 
ister von Gossler was particularly interested in this children of 

phase of education. Von Gossler took the stand ^^fective 

0P66C11 

that the organization of special classes for those who 
had defects of speech would not only take a great burden from 
the Volksschulen, but would also increase the value of such chil- 
dren as future workers in the state. Defects of speech would 
hinder the child in its trade or calling, therefore it was the state's 
unavoidable duty to do all it could for their improvement. 
From that time the number of courses has increased greatly. 
Teachers are especially trained for the work, and usually re- 
ceive a higher salary than the regular classroom teacher. Gutz- 



146 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

mann, director of the deaf and dumb school in Berlin, has 
done probably more than any other for the development 
of method in the instruction and cure of those afHicted with 
defective speech. It has been estimated that there are at 
least 100,000 children in the German Empire who are defec- 
tive in speech. We are not able to obtain figures as to the 
exact number of courses in Germany, but we have visited such 
classes in Berlin, Breslau, Cassel, Dortmund, Hannover, Kiel, 
and Posen. The normal schools also instruct their students 
in the method of treating cases of stuttering and stammering, 
and also in measures to be taken to check incipient cases. This 
latter point is of importance inasmuch as many children form 
these habits after starting to school. Courses are also provided 
for children in the pre-school period in order that the total amount 
of stuttering and the like may be reduced. 

There are special classes for partially deaf children, and 
also for those who are particularly weak-sighted. The latter 
type of class is very rare, as provision is generally made for 
such children by advantageous and careful seating in the 
regular school. In some few cities there are classes for crippled 
children for whose instructor the community pays in case the 
parents are unable to do so. The majority of cripples, however, 
are cared for in homes for crippled children. Special provision 
is also made for incorrigible and truant children in truant or 
parental schools, which most frequently assume the character 
of institutions. 

There are also special schools and courses for normal children 
of the Volksschule. We have already mentioned cooking, sew- 
ing, and manual training schools and courses which 
Schools for are to be found in all of the large cities and in many 
?vmT^ of the lesser ones, and even in rural districts. These 

Children ' 

schools and courses are sometimes organically con- 
nected with the Volksschulen and sometimes are supported sep- 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 147 

arately by private funds or associations, the city, or the state. 
It has also been necessary to estabHsh courses in drawing for 
boys in addition to the drawing regularly given in the Volksschule. 
These classes are generally given in connection with a contin- 
uation school. Some schools give swimming in addition to the 
regular work in physical training. Enghsh and French are taught 
in the Volksschulen of a few cities, particularly in the great com- 
mercial cities and in cities on the western frontier which have 
a large French population. 

Among the more important activities of benevolent character 
which deal with the children of the Volksschulen are children's 
day homes and vacation colonies. The day homes Benevolent 
are intended for children of school age who need Activities 
supervision and a warm place to stay during the hours when their 
parents are at work. In many families both the mother and 
the father are employed from early morning until seven or eight 
o'clock in the evening. Children of such families can scarcely 
remain at home and cannot be allowed to run the streets. Ac- 
cordingly almost every town or city in Germany has estabUshed 
one or more of these homes for this class of children. The 
children remain in these homes from the time school is dismissed 
until the time their parents return from work. The children 
are employed in many ways and are always under the direction 
of some guide or leader, ordinarily a teacher. School lessons 
are prepared in this time. Games, sewing for the girls, manual 
training for the boys, gardening, knitting, patching, and the like 
are among some of the activities of these homes. It is customary 
in many places to serve the children with a Hght supper of bread 
and milk and some cold meat. Baths are frequently provided. 

The vacation colonies {Ferienkolonien) are also for the poorer 
classes. It is their purpose to give the weak and physically 
undeveloped children of the poor opportunity in the summer 
and fall vacations for a few days in the open air, in the mountains. 



148 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

in the country, or at the seashore. These colonies are sup- 
ported partly by private and partly by public means. Sickly 
children are handled largely in three categories. Children who 
are ill with a definite disease are sent to children's sanitariums 
or hospitals. Children who through sickness or undernourish- 
ment are in a poor condition make up the inhabitants of the regu- 
lar vacation colonies. The third group of children, who are 
in the first stages of decline, are looked after in the "city colonies" 
and milk stations. 

In 1 88 1 the "Association of Children's Sanitariums on the 
German Coast" was founded by Geheimrat Benecke, and to-day 
sanitariums are to be found in all of the important coast cities 
which provide free treatment for the children of the poor. 

The real vacation colonies had their beginnings in Switzer- 
land about forty years ago, when Pastor Bion of Zurich took 
the sickly poor children of that city out of their unhealthful 
and miserable homes up into the forests of the surrounding 
mountains. From there the movement spread to Germany, where 
it has grown to enormous proportions and is largely supported 
by municipalities and by the state. 

The choice of children is usually made by the teacher after 
investigation of the conditions and needs of the home from 
which the child comes. Children from seven to fourteen years 
of age make up the majority of the total number. The expenses 
in the colonies are borne by the associations, while the parents 
are required to furnish the child's clothes. Bedclothing, towels, 
soap, combs, and books are provided by the association. 

Although there is not as much destitution in Germany as in 
other continental countries, there are thousands of families who 
„ ,. , have only the barest necessities of life. The children 

Feeding of "^ 

School of the poorer classes suffer not only from hunger but 

^^^ also from cold. In Berlin alone in the winter of 

1913-1914 there were two hundred thousand unemployed. 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 149 

Naturally the families of these men had to suffer. At best 
the morning breakfast of these families is very meager, consist- 
ing of a cup of coffee and possibly a piece of bread or a roll without 
butter. Thousands of children in the large cities come to school 
without a warm breakfast of any kind, and without any second 
breakfast in their satchel to still their hunger until lunch time. 
Many others can get no warm food at noon, perhaps only a piece 
of bread and a cup of coffee. Frequently when they get home 
they find the door shut and the father and mother at work, and 
they are compelled to play in the streets or go to a neighbor's 
house until their parents' return. 

In practically all German cities there are associations similar 
to the ones that support the day homes, which take it upon 
themselves to furnish breakfasts and luncheons to the poor chil- 
dren who are unable to get proper food at home. The breakfast 
thus provided consists of warm milk and bread, while the lun- 
cheon consists of bread and some sort of nutritious soup. These 
associations are supported partly by private donations and 
partly by public funds. In many of the large cities the newer 
schools have special rooms set apart for feeding the children. 
The wife of the principal and the wives of the teachers usually 
exercise supervision over the meals and the management of the 
undertaking. 

The number of children fed daily in Berlin, Munich, Cologne, 
Frankfurt, and Dresden amounts to three or four thousand in 
each city. The numbers increase from year to year. Some 
school men oppose the movement on the ground that the parents 
of children fed free of all cost come to depend on the public for 
the support of their children. Nevertheless the movement con- 
tinues to grow. 

We did not visit a city in Germany of any considerable size 
which did not have a dental cHnic for its children. The treat- 
ment at these clinics is either free or costs about twenty-five 



I50 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

cents for the year. At the beginning of school the children 
are sold or given a dental card, and they are required to visit 
Dental the cHnic and have their teeth examined. An investi- 

ciinics gator found that out of ten thousand children only 

4.3 per cent or 430 children had perfectly healthy teeth, and that 
fully half the teeth of all the children were in some way affected. 
The reason for such conditions is lack of care of the teeth. 
Only a few of the children take advantage of the free dental 
treatment, and fewer still ever learn to use a toothbrush. There 
is an enormous fortune in the manufacture of tooth-brushes in 
Germany, for the great mass of people is yet unacquainted 
with that article of personal toilet. The teachers mention the 
subject sometimes while teaching physiology and personal hy- 
giene, but the results as yet are not noticeable. 

Shower baths are the commonest kind of baths installed in 

the modern German school building. All the new schools and 

many of the older schools have shower baths. This 

School •' ^^ ' ^ ' ' r\ 

Baths. is true in small tov/ns as well as m the cities. Oc- 

Swimrmng (.g^sioj^a^i provisiou is made for bathing in the country 
schools. A great deal of the bathing equipment is out of date. 
In most cases the shower is over a zinc tub, while rarely one finds 
the shower built in, with the drain in the floor. Some make 
provision for warm water, but this is not always the case. 
The time for bathing is usually taken out of the arithmetic hour, 
or it is after school and is supervised by the janitor. Bathing 
is not compulsory; however, the children in the upper classes 
generally learn to take advantage of their opportunity. Many 
principals in the larger cities have told me that the children 
make little use of the bath. 

In some of the larger cities, like Munich, the baths occupy 
several rooms in the basements, where there are as many as 
fifty showers, an attendant's room, a laundry, and dressing 
rooms. Towels and soap are furnished by the city ordinarily, 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 151 

but there are many exceptions to this rule, all depending upon 
the wealth of the city. In Munich from one half to three fourths 
of the children in the Volksschulen use the school baths. In 
most places the boys bathe much more frequently than the girls. 

In cities where school baths are not provided it frequently 
occurs that children of the Volksschule are furnished cards free 
of charge to public baths and swimming pools. Germany is 
very rich in rivers and navigable streams, so that a very large 
portion of the population is near water that is deep enough for 
swimming. In case a city is on a river or the seacoast, one 
invariably finds pubHc or municipal swimming and bathing accom- 
modations, which are always open to the school children. Occa- 
sionally the children receive free swimming instruction. In a 
few cities swimming is made an integral part of the physical 
training course. Swimming contests are frequently held. 

It is our observation that the German child does not play 
as much as the American child. It is, however, not on ac- 
count of lack of facihties. Rather it is because of the Municipal 
method of training in the schools and of the disci- Playgrounds 
pline at home. All the large cities and many of the smaller ones 
have public parks and municipal playgrounds, the latter being 
devoted exclusively to children. We were unable to get any 
figures as to the numbers that use the playgrounds. Our judg- 
ment is based on personal observation of playgrounds in fifteen 
or twenty of Germany's largest cities. On most occasions these 
grounds were noticeably vacant. Sometimes there would be 
children on the grounds, but most often they would be occupy- 
ing the benches under the trees. The children in the country 
who have no playgrounds do infinitely more playing. 

There are at present movements in all Germany to increase 
the amount of play, which we have mentioned in the paragraphs 
deahng with Jugendpflege. Many cities are training teachers 
to take charge of the public playgrounds, and in this way good 



152 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

results are being achieved. Statistics kept of a few playgrounds 
show ^ that the number of children playing and the interest shown 
depend entirely on the number and activity of the play leaders 
on the grounds. It is evident that the German child must be 
led even to play freely, so formalized is his training — a training 
for following. The leader says "work,'* and the child works; 
"play," and the child plays. 

The equipment of the municipal playgrounds is very similar 
to our playgrounds in this country. There are poles for climb- 
ing, swings, parallel bars, trapeze, sand pits, and the like. There 
is also ample room for running games, football, and tennis. 
The latter game is not played much by the lower classes. 

One of the most pleasing and helpful activities connected 
with the Volksschulen, and also other schools, is the school ex- 
Schooi cursion. The German is a great lover of nature, and 

Excursions |-]^^g excursion movement has its sources in that love. 
No matter where one goes in Germany there are thousands of 
people on excursions and chiefly afoot. One meets groups of 
school children walking and tramping everywhere — on the heath, 
in the valley, on the mountain, in the forest. Many of these ex- 
cursions are only for an afternoon ; many last a week or longer. 
Frequently a band of school children wanders from town to town, 
earning board and lodging by singing in the streets. Our first 
impression in regard to the German school system which we 
derived from actual observation was furnished by a band of 
wandering schoolboys which we met in the mountains of the 
Bavarian Highlands. 

School excursions have an educational and a physical bearing. 
We shall discuss school excursions in connection with several of 
the subjects of the school curriculum. These excursions are 
particularly important for children from great cities who are 
unacquainted with rural life and activity. In some of the larger 

1 Lexis, vol. Ill, p. 85. 



«U«H 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 153 

citits excursions by tram are undertaken by the children of the 
Volksschulen, sometimes to the mountains, sometimes to the 
seashore. Such trips are gotten up and planned by the teachers 
and are supported chiefly by the benevolent associations that 
are interested in children. The excursions are sometimes free ; 
on other occasions each child pays a certain nominal sum. 

The physical value of these excursions is self-evident. The 
educational value is used to the greatest possible degree. The 
teacher plans in advance for the trip, explains to the children 
what they will be expected to see, and prepares a great fund 
of information with which he is able to answer all the children's 
questions. The excursions furnish practically all the oppor- 
tunity a child gets of asking natural questions, and that is the 
reason the work built on excursions is perhaps the best that is 
done to-day in the German schools. 

The material used in the large cities for instruction in botany 
is usually supplied from the municipal gardens and is delivered 
free to the schools. The botanical gardens also serve school 
the schools as laboratories, inasmuch as the teachers Gardens 
bring their classes to the garden for instruction. This scheme 
is at best insufl&cient and in many ways unsatisfactory. The 
newer schools have been built on plots large enough so that each 
school may have a garden of its o^m. The children of the school 
in this case have the care of the garden, each class being assigned 
a particular portion to care for. The children raise flowers and 
vegetables of all sorts. Sometimes there is a little pond built 
in the garden where the pupils can watch the development of 
fish, frogs, and other water animals. 

In a few cities one finds large unoccupied plots of ground, 
cut up into little portions and assigned to boys from the Volks- 
schule to care for and plant with whatsoever they will. Aside 
from keeping the boys active, this plan also interests many 
in horticulture and gardening as careers. Prizes are frequently 



154 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

given to the boy or girl who raises the best flowers or vegetables. 
Not only do the school gardens interest the children, but they 
also awaken the interest of the neighboring communities in the 
activity of the school. 

The price of theater tickets in Germany is a great deal less 
than in America. Since most of the theatrical productions 
are provided by municipal or royal players, the city 
Tickets for can afford to give reduced rates or free seats to the 
CMdren school children. Free seats or cheap seats for school 
children are the rule for children's plays. This holds 
true particularly at Christmas time. Fundamentally the pur- 
pose of this movement is to interest the children in and awaken 
a finer understanding of the beauty of the German drama. The 
plays which are to be seen on the stage are usually read and 
studied in school, then followed by the theatrical production. The 
plays that are most frequently visited are : Heyse's Colherg; 
von Wildenbruch's Die Quitzows; Lessing's Minna von Barn- 
helm; Schiller's Wilhelm Tell and Jungfrau von Orleans. 

Thrift is a well-known characteristic of the German. It has 
been preached in Germany for centuries and has also been 
School practiced. A stranger is not long in the country 

Savings before he hears of Sparkassen and upon investiga- 
tion it is found that almost everyone has a vital 
interest in a Sparkasse (savings bank or institution) of one 
kind or another. These institutions are both public and private, 
but always under the control of the banking authorities. In 
the cities the "city savings bank" is generally the most im- 
portant of this class of savings institutions, and here and there 
throughout the city are branch depositories, where the working 
class can find easy access and opportunity to deposit its savings, 
small though they may be. Every family has its savings book, 
which is most carefully guarded so that when old age overtakes 
the German working man there is generally a nest egg laid away. 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 155 

This idea of saving has been carried over into the schools. 
Formerly the principle of economy was taught the children ; but 
some teachers came to believe that the best way to learn thrift 
was to practice it, and consequently in the middle of the last 
century school savings banks began to spring up here and there. 
The clergy as well as the teachers have contributed largely to 
the development of this movement. As early as 1850 school 
savings banks were established in the Sunday schools (continuation 
schools) for the purpose of helping the children to save enough 
money to buy Bibles, clothes, and song books for confirmation. 
The school inspector at Hohenwald, in Brandenburg, did a great 
deal for -this movement and estabhshed a bank for the school 
children in 1867. In 1880 the Society for School Savings Banks 
was founded and since that time the number of these institutions 
has increased very rapidly, so that at the present time there are 
thousands of schools in which the children lay aside so much 
each week, and according to the last reports there are many mil- 
lions of marks to the credit of the school children of Germany. 

In almost all German states there are laws or regulations con- 
cerning the organization and conduct of savings funds. 

Naturally, there are many different methods of collecting the 
money from the children and putting it out at interest. As a 
rule, the children bring their sa\'ings on Monday of each week, 
or the first of every month, and each class teacher collects these 
amounts and turns them over to the teacher who has charge 
of the saving accounts for the whole school. Each child has a 
bank book, in which the teacher enters the amount deposited, 
and the book is then returned to the child. The teacher of each 
class also keeps a general entry book in which he enters the moneys 
received by him. In the schools which we have visited, the school 
savings bank was under the supervision of the stddtische Sparkasse 
(city savings bank), where the money of the children was usually 
deposited. The rate of interest is usually 2>i per cent. 



156 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

In some schools there are slot machines where the children 
may get a deposit check on the insertion of a ten-pfennig piece. 
These checks are collected and when they amount to one mark 
they are turned over to the teacher and the child is credited 
with that amount. The advantage of this system Hes in the 
fact that a child can get a deposit check as soon as he gets his 
hands on his ten-pfennig piece and does not have to carry his 
money around a w^hole week or month past all the tempting 
windows where pennies are so easily spent. Another system of 
saving which is rather common is the stamp system. The chil- 
dren buy stamps (saving stamps) which are specially for this 
purpose, and they paste these in their books. This is merely 
another form of registration and it seems to be more objective 
to the children than when figures are merely written down. 

The conditions of withdrawal also vary. In some systems 
the money must be kept on deposit until the child is fourteen 
or removes from the city. In other systems the parents are 
allowed to withdraw the savings at any time. As a rule the 
money is kept until the child leaves school, so that there will 
be a fund on hand at confirmation time when the child takes 
up his or her calling. 

At the beginning of the savings fund movement, the teachers 
were opposed to it on many grounds. The real objection was 
that it caused a great deal of work for which the teachers re- 
ceived no pay. At that time the collection of the money took 
place outside of school hours, while now the time is generally 
taken out of the regular school time. It is interesting, however, 
to notice some of the reasons given as argument against school 
savings banks, in view of the fact that one never hears a teacher 
at the present time maintain them. The following are some 
of the reasons given in 1880 against the foundation of such funds 
in the schools : There is no cogent pedagogical foundation for 
the estabhshment of school savings banks, for the schools possess 



EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITY 157 

a sufficient number of means for awakening the sense of economy. 
The child does not possess the right conception of thrift, that is, 
the understanding of money and labor in their relationship. 
The school has no time for such work. School savings banks 
undermine the confidence existing between the home and the 
school. They produce class feeling. They produce jealousy, 
greed, covetousness, and far worse quahties. They destroy 
the inclination of the child to work at home. They deprive the 
children of the right conception of the purpose of the school. 
They assume one of the functions of the home, — the inculca- 
tion of the principle of economy and thrift. They commercial- 
ize the child's spirit. 

In spite of these arguments, or rather, statements, the move- 
ment increased very rapidly, because there was a need felt among 
the people for just such an institution, where children could 
learn to save, whether there was a pedagogical reason for it or 
not. A prominent rector in Berlin said to us, "The time we spend 
in collecting the money from the children each week is the most 
valuable half -hour we spend." 

There are school banks in America, but they are by no means 
so general as in Germany, though the reason for it is not far to 
seek. The American boy saves his money on his own initiative. 
He goes straight to regular banks and opens up his account. 
America has a lesson to learn in this regard, and school banks, 
under city or state banking supervision, would do much to in- 
crease the thrift of the American school children. 

We have endeavored to mention briefly in this chapter some 
of the activities which supplement the work of the Volksschulen. 
One would scarcely find all of these movements con- 

, . , 1 T 1 . • Conclusion 

nected with any one school ; however, every activity 
mentioned above is growing rapidly from year to year. The 
country child fares very badly, just as he does in America, except 
in the matter of teachers. The country girl and boy have their 



158 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

compensation in other ways. It is difficult to measure the 
actual value of all the extracurricular movements, but it seems 
to us that if all the children could partake in all of them, they 
would outweigh the work done in the schoolroom as far as real 
building for life is concerned. 



CHAPTER IX 
PREPARATION OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 

The chart on page i6o indicates the number of years of prepara- 
tion required of the elementary school teacher and the schools 
in which this preparation is generally obtained. The rule is, 
that the teacher has attended an elementary school (Volksschule 
or Mittelschule) for eight years, the normal preparatory school 
for three years, and the normal school for a like period of three 
years, in all a preparation of fourteen years' duration. 

The majority of the elementary school teachers attend the 
Volksschule, though just what percentage is not determinable. 
Those who do not attend the Volksschule attend a 

Volks- 

middle school. Only in a few cases does the pupil of schuie and 
a Gymnasium become a teacher in the lower schools. J^lJ^^l® 

-^ School 

A pupil who has finished the full nine years' course 
of a middle school enters the second year of the normal pre- 
paratory school {Prdparandenafistalt) without examination, and 
if he has passed the one-year volunteer examination (see p. 85), 
it is possible for him to enter the first class of the Praparanden- 
anstalt, or the lowest class of the normal school (Seminar). If 
the pupil has merely finished the Volksschule, he enters directly 
into the lowest class of the Prdparandenanstalt. Attention is 
called here to the diagram, which indicates the classes, schools, 
and possibilities of transfer from one school to another. Like- 
wise the age of the pupil who has made regular progress is desig- 
nated. No one may begin to teach in Prussia before the com- 
pletion of the twentieth year, nor may any one be admitted to 
the normal school before the age of seventeen. 

159 



i6o 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



School 
Year Age 






jf'^ "^ '"- •^ 


I 


14 


„^ 


II 


13 


J 

I 


III 


12 


M 


I 


11 


16 


II 


10 


15 / 


I 




III 


9 


14 \ 


II 


1 

I 


8 


.3^ 


III 


II 


7 


12 


IV 


III 


6 


" 


V 


IV 


5 


,0 


VI 


V 


4 


M 


VII 


VI 


3 


8 


VIII 


VII 
VIII 


2 


7 


IX 


1 


A 



A/ormai 
School 



Le/ire/' 
seminar 



/^o^mal 

Preparalorj/ 

School 

(Prdparan 

den- 

/Inslalt) 



Volksschu- 
len 



1 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER i6i 

A pupil of the Volksschule wishing to become a teacher enters 
next the Prdparandenanstalt, to which he obtains entrance by 
passing an oral and written examination on all the sub- j^on^ai 
jects of instruction of the Volksschule. The Prdparan- Preparatory 

, , . . . . r '1 r School 

denanstalt is an mstitution for preparmg boys tor 
the normal schools. The course is generally three years. These 
institutions are partly state, partly city, and partly private. 
Some are in connection with normal schools and others are en- 
tirely separate institutions. There are no normal preparatory 
schools for girls, but provision is made for the girls' preparation 
in girls' higher schools and private institutions. In 191 2 there 
were eighty-four normal preparatory schools in Prussia supported 
by the state, and one hundred fifty-nine institutions, either 
supported by the cities, or of a private nature. All receive 
state support. In the state schools there were 7156 pupils and 
14,623 in the other schools. In the same year the state prepara- 
tory school cost 2,393,802 M., or about 334 M. per pupil. The 
pupils are expected to pay their own expenses, but in case they 
are not able to do so, the state furnishes them aid. 

The normal preparatory schools, as well as the normal schools, 
were reorganized thoroughly by the General Regulations of i8y2, 
and again reorganized by the regulations of July i, 

-, ■, . 1 • 1 (• • 1 Purposes of 

1901, and they exist to-day m the form given them the Normal 
by the regulations last named. The normal prepar- Preparatory 
atory schools were reorganized in a uniform way for all 
Prussia in order that the pupils coming to the normal schools 
should have pretty much the same preparation and ability. 
According to the course of study of 1901, the preparatory school 
has three classes, each class comprising a year's work. It is 
also to be noticed that the course of study of the normal school 
and the course of study of the preparatory school form a com- 
plete whole, and the work of the preparatory school is built 
directly upon that of the Volksschule. In fact it is the sole task 

M 



l62 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

of the preparatory school to continue the general education 
of the lower school, while it is the business of the normal school 
to finish the general education of its pupils, and give thena their 
professional training, too. The first year of normal preparatory 
school is to take pupils with greatly varying preparation, for 
they come from schools of varying efiiciency, and bring them 
to the same standard of advancement. In some subjects, such 
as grammar, arithmetic, and geometry, the work of the highest 
class of the Volksschule is repeated to some extent in the first 
year of the preparatory school. As a result of the new regulations 
of 1 90 1 a great deal of the academic work of the normal school 
has been shoved down into the normal preparatory school, in" 
order to give the students in the normal school more time for 
methods, practice teaching, history of education, and other 
professional work. Some subjects or parts of subjects are finished 
entirely in the preparatory school, for example, Bible history, 
catechism, German grammar, elementary arithmetic, ancient 
history, writing, and zoology in part. 

As mentioned above, the normal preparatory school has a 
three years' course, which is a continuation of the work of the 
Plan of Volksschule. Pupils, however, who come from the 

tion^of r" Volksschule must pass an entrance examination for the 
Normal Pre- preparatory school. This examination is a means 

paratory 

School of elimination of the poorer class of pupils, in order 

that the normal school system shall not become overcrowded. 
As a rule not more than thirty pupils are admitted to any one 
class of the school, so that the normal number of pupils in a 
normal preparatory school is ninety. 

The boy on applying for admission to the preparatory school 
must furnish a birth certificate, also certificates of confirmation, 
vaccination, re vaccination, health previous training, and a 
certified attest from the father that the latter is willing to sup- 
port the son throughout the course and that he has the neces- 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 163 

sary means for doing so. The examination must be passed, and 
the enrollment is finally approved by the Provincial School 
Board, under whose supervision are all normal schools and 
normal preparatory schools. The tuition is generally about 
thirty-six marks per year. The institution is an external. The 
pupils board with citizens of the town, but are always under 
the supervision of the school authorities. Pupils who are not 
financially able to pay all their expenses are excused from pay- 
ing the tuition fee, and frequently receive aid from the state. 

COURSE OF STUDY OF THE PRUSSIAN NORMAL AND NORMAL 

PREPARATORY SCHOOLS 



Subjects 


Preparatory School Normal School 


Remarks 


III 


II 


I 


III 


II 


I 


Pedagogy . . . 
Methods . . . 

Practice Teaching 
Religion . . . 
German . . . 
Mod. Languages . 
History . . . 
Mathematics . , 
Natural and Phys- 
ical Science 
Geography . . . 
Writing .... 
Drawing . . . 
Physical Training 
Music .... 

Agriculture . . 


4 

5 
2 
2 
5 

2 
2 
2 
2 
3 
3 


4 
5 
2 
2 
5 

4 
2 
2 
2 
3 
4 
I 


3 
5 
3 
3 
5 

4 
2 
I 
2 

3 
5 


3 

3 
5 
2 

2 

5 

4 
3 

2 
3 
4 

I 


3 

4 
5 
2 
2 
5 

4 
2 

2 
3 

4 

I 
I 


3 
4 

4-6 

3' 
2 
2 
i« 

i" 

I 
4 


^ Included in hours of 
the several subjects. 

2 One hour-methods 
' One hour-methods 

^ One hour-methods 

^ One hour-methods 
^ One hour-methods 

' One hour-methods 


Total . . . 


34 


2>7 


37 


38 


38 


33-35 





At the end of the course in the normal preparatory there is a 
leaving examination known as the Entlassungsprilfung. It covers 
the work of the preparatory school and those who are successful 



1 64 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

in the examination are admitted to the normal schooL This 
examination corresponds exactly to the entrance examinations 
(Aufnahmeprufung) for normal schools, the only difference being 
that the former examination is held at a normal preparatory 
school, while the latter is held at the normal school, and that 
the dates of examination may be different. (See p. i66 for 
Aufnahmeprufung) . 

In general the course of study of the normal preparatory 
school is merely a continuation of the work of the Volksschule. 

The course of the Volksschule and the normal pre- 
studyofthe paratory might well be compared with the courses 
demnstait ^^ ^^^ American elementary and high school, though 

the subjects of study are by no means the same. The 
average graduate of the German normal preparatory seems to 
be equally advanced as the graduate of an American high school, 
except in the practical subjects and in physical development. 
The German boy of seventeen is soft and unj&nished in comparison 
with the average American high school graduate. The dif- 
ference is not in academic knowledge, but in knowledge of things 
and people, which the American boy acquires under the American 
system of life, and through the social activity into which every 
American high school student is thrown more or less.^ 

The next step in the preparation of the elementary school 
teacher is the Lehrerseminar or normal training school, with a 
The Normal three years' course. In general these normal schools 
School g^j-g g|.g^^g institutions. In 191 2 there were 201 state 

normal schools in Prussia; 18 of these schools were for women 
and the remainder for men; 4 were non-sectarian, 126 for 
Protestant teachers, and 71 for Catholic. There was a total 
of 18,887 students enrolled and 1435 teachers employed. These 
schools were supported at a total expense of 14,791,664 M., of 

* See Kandel, Training of Elementary Teachers in Germany, for the course of 
study in the Prussian normal schools. 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 165 

which 12,845,313 M. was contributed by the state. Each stu- 
dent cost on the average a Httle over 783 M. 

The majority of the normal schools are boarding institutions, 
just as are some of our normal schools in America and those in 
France. The schools require a tuition fee, which, how- 

. Iniernats 

ever, is low. The pupils who can pay their board are 
required to do so; the others pay as much as they can, and the 
deficit is made up by the state. The boys Hve in the institutions 
under very strict supervision, and with a hmited number of priv- 
ileges. All normal schools are not internals, and the pupils 
of non-boarding institutions live with the people of the town. 

The normal schools are sectarian and non-coeducational. 
The Protestants are educated in one school, the CathoKcs in 
another, and the Jews in another. So far as we can j^Q^mai 
see there is very little reason for such separation. The Schools for 
women have as yet few normal schools. Up till the 
present time the women who have become teachers in the Volks- 
schulen have attended public or private girls' higher schools 
and then taken the examination required for admission to the 
profession. A large number of the women teachers have really 
passed the examination for the middle or higher girls' schools, 
but, on account of a lack of positions, are forced to teach in the 
lower schools, where also there is an oversupply of women teach- 
ers. It is customary that training schools for women are tacked 
on to a Lyzeum, in some form or other. Such regular state 
training schools as there are, eighteen in all, are very similar 
to the institutions for men. There are also a number of private 
normal schools for women in connection with girls' higher schools. 
Likewise in various cities in connection with the city girls' higher 
school there are courses for teachers. Taking it all in all, the 
normal school system for women is not developed fully in Prussia, 
but it is gradually taking on a form similar to that of the normal 
school system for men. 



1 66 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Each student applying for entrance to a normal school must 
pass an entrance examination, which is called the Aufnahmeprii- 
Entrance Jufig. Pupils of recognized normal preparatory schools 
Examina- are not required to take this particular examination, 
Normal but must pass a leaving examination at the preparatory 
Schools school, which to all intents and purposes is identical 
to entrance examinations at the normal school. The entrance 
examination ^ is held at regular intervals before an examina- 
tion commission composed of the commissioners of the Pro- 
vincial School Board, and the director and several of the 
teachers of the normal school in the administrative county in 
question. Applications for admittance are granted only to 
those who will have attained the age of seventeen by the time 
of entrance into the normal school. Applicants must also 
bring certificates of health and character, just as in the case of 
pupils entering the normal preparatory schools, as we have de- 
scribed above. It is immaterial where the applicants have 
acquired their previous training, be it in the Volksschule, Mittel- 
schule, Reals chule, Gymnasium, or Prdparandenanstalt. No one 
is admitted to the examination who has passed the age of twenty- 
four. The examination covers all the subjects of instruction 
in the preparatory school and consists of a \vritten part and an 
oral part. The written part consists usually of httle themes 
dealing with rehgion, history, geography, or science, and general 
topics selected from the candidate's field of experience. In 
place of the first group of themes, a number of questions requiring 
two or three minutes' writing may be assigned. The oral part 
of the examination is held preferably before the whole commis- 
sion and is the most important part of the examination. Amy 
applicant deficient in any one major subject can be accepted 
only in case the whole commission thinks the applicant can make 

1 Allegemeine Bestimmungen of October 15, 1872. Bestimmungen betreffend 
das Praparandenwesen, July i, 1901. 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 167 

up the deficiency. Those who are totally lacking musical 
ability are excluded, but those who are merely deficient or are 
so because of some defect in hearing or are deficient in organ 
playing may be accepted. The examination requires a pretty 
thorough knowledge of the work planned for the normal pre- 
paratory schools. 

After the examination has been passed the successful ones 
are admitted to the normal school. Only those are announced 
as having passed for whom there are places. If the normal school 
in one district needs more pupils, they are sent from another 
district which has too many. The classes are held to thirty as 
nearly a& possible. On entering the normal school the student 
must sign the following promise : ^ 

Upon my entrance into the royal teachers' training school at X — , 
I hereby obligate myself to pay back all aid received in cash or in other 
forms, and further to pay as tuition fee for instruction received thirty 
(30) marks for every semester spent in the school, 

(i) if, I, before the end of the course, should leave the school of my 

own account and without being compelled to do so through illness, or 

should be forced to leave on account of bad conduct ; 

(2) or if I should refuse, within the first five years after passing my 

first teachers' examination (see below), to accept the position in the 

public school service assigned to me by the provincial or central authorities. 

After the completion of the normal school course all can- 
didates for the teaching profession must pass the First Teachers' 
Examination {Erste Lehrerprufung) on the basis of 
which they receive the qualification necessary for tern- First 

Teachers- 

porary appointment in the Volksschtden. Applicants Examina- 
are also admitted to this examination who have not ^°J (Erste 

Lehrer- 

prepared at the normal schools. The examination priifung) 
in reality is the leaving examination of the normal 
school, but serves the purpose of teachers' examination, too, 
just as in some states in America graduation from the normal 
* Min. Erlasse of January 24, 1887, and May 14, 1892. 



1 68 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

school is equivalent to certification for teaching. The examina- 
tion commission consists of the commissioner of the royal Provin- 
cial School Board as chairman, a commissioner of the admin- 
istrative county in which the examination is held, and the director 
and all the regular teachers of the normal school. Sample copies 
of drawing and writing must be submitted by all candidates 
before the examination begins. The examination is made up 
of written, practical, and oral tests. 

The standard of knowledge and ability demanded is deter- 
mined by the course of study for normal schools. The candidates 
who received their training in the normal school have 

Written 1 r 11 • 1 

Part of the to prepare the lollowmg themes or compositions: 
tion™"^*" (i) theme deahng with a topic taken from pedagogy 
or principles of teaching, from the history of edu- 
cation, or from German literature; (2) composition in religion, 
and (3) another in history; (4) a translation from German 
into a foreign language and from a foreign language into 
German ; (5) for those who study organ and harmony, the com- 
position of a choral. For the first (i) piece of written work 4 
hours are allowed, and 2 hours each for the others. The 
candidates coming from without the Seminar must prepare the 
same written work, and in addition thereto do some written 
work in mathematics (3 hours), and in geography and the natu- 
ral sciences (2 hours each). If the written work is of high qual- 
ity, the candidate may be excused entirely from the oral part of 
the examination. 

At the close of the written examination, topics are assigned 
to the various candidates, which they shall present as model 
Teaching. lessons before the commission two days later. A 
S^*^f^h written outHne of the lesson presented must be pre- 
Examina- pared by the candidate and laid before the commis- 
sion. The topics assigned may be selected from any 
subject of instruction in the Volksschule. 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 169 

The oral part of the examination for the candidates from the 
normal school includes oral tests in pedagogy, religion, German, 
history, a foreign language, and in methods for all orai ex- 
elementary school subjects. The other candidates a^i^^atioii 
must pass an oral examination in all subjects of the normal 
school. The latter class of candidates are never excused from 
the oral examination. The commission decides on the success 
of the candidate according to the total results of all parts of the 
examination. Whoever is deficient in German, religion, peda- 
gogy, or history fails in the examinations. Deficiency in mathe- 
matics is reason for failure of a candidate not coming from the 
normal school. Failure in more than three of the other sub- 
jects of examination is cause for refusal of the teaching certifi- 
cate. 

If a candidate passes the examination, he receives a certificate 
which indicates the name of the holder, personality, training, 
industry, conduct, the results of the written tests, as ^^^ xeach- 
well as of the oral test and the model lesson. The ing Certm- 
administrative county adds its certification of quali- 
fication for teaching, and the candidate is now subject to tem- 
porary appointment in an elementary school.^ 

The Prussian elementary teacher is appointed at first only 
temporarily. At the end of two years' service, the probationary 
is allowed to apply for admittance to the Second 
Teachers' Examination, the passing of which entitles Teachers' 
the teacher to permanent appointment. This ex- Examina- 
amination, according to the regulations issued July 
13, 191 2, consists of three parts; a written, a practical, and an 
oral. The chief change made by the new regulations from those 
of July I, 1 90 1, is that the practical (teaching) part of the ex- 
amination is held in the candidate's own school and class, in 
which he has taught at least for one year. This innovation is 
^ Neiie Bestimmungen iiher die Seminarsentlassungsprufung, July i, 1901. 



I70 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

of decided advantage to the teacher, for he is not required, as 
formerly, to give his trial lesson with strange pupils. The 
temporary teachers have two opportunities each year to register 
for the examination, in March and in September, and if the 
application is granted, they are examined sometime within the 
following six months. The examination is held by a commission 
of three, composed usually of the county school superintendent, 
the district school inspector, and the principal or head of a normal 
school, middle school, or Volksschiile. The fee for the exami- 
nation is five dollars. This second examination must be passed 
before the end of the fifth year of teaching. 

The written part of the examination consists of a treatise 
prepared by the candidate on some professional topic which 
^, „, . he himself has selected out of his recent educational 

The Wntten . . . , . 

Examina- activity with the approval of the district school in- 
*^°" spector. This treatise is prepared at home and is 

generally twenty-five or thirty pages in length. The writer 
must also make out a list of all books and other sources which 
he has used in the preparation of the treatise, both of which he 
forwards to the district school inspector, along with his appli- 
cation for examination. The district school inspector writes 
his report of the teacher's work in the application blank and, 
together with the treatise, forwards it to the commission. A 
member of the commission reads the treatise, reports to the 
commission on it, and then it is decided whether the probation- 
ary be allowed to take the oral part of the examination. 

The practical test covers generally three subjects, usually 
in the class which the candidate has taught the most, or if he has 

been continually occupied in other classes, a part of 
Practical the examination may be held in these classes. The 

teacher has already submitted his weekly program 
to the commission, and it in turn notifies him on what day 
it will examine his work. The commission takes into consid- 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 171 

eration the general condition of the class as well as the ability 
of the teacher to impart instruction. The teacher is required 
to treat new material in order to show his methods in working 
upon the '^ understanding and feelings of the children." 

The oral part of the examination, which is given immediately 
after the practical test, deals with the professional knowledge 
and ability of the teacher. He is examined in psy- The Oral 
chology, logic, ethics, methods of teaching, history '^®^* 
of education, especially the development of the Prussian Volks- 
schule, school law, and administration. The result of the ex- 
amination is obtained by consideration of all parts thereof. In 
case of failure the candidate is allowed to repeat the examina- 
tion once, and in case of the second failure, he is dismissed from 
the service. 

The certificate which the successful candidate receives after 
the examination is over is as follows : 

On the basis of the examination of his school work and training, which 
he has passed successfully before the local commission, the qualification 
for permanent appointment as teacher in the elementary school is granted 
Herr N. N., born July 10, 1890, in district of Randow in the administrative 
county of Stettin, and of Protestant religion, at present teacher in the rural 
district of Marienburg in Regierungsbezirk Hildesheim. 

Teachers in the public schools are selected by the local author- 
ities from the Hst of those eligible, that is, from a list of those 
who have passed the examinations described above. „ 

^ , , Permanent 

Teachers are elected by the local authorities but must Appoint- 
be confirmed by the county government, which issues ™^^ 
the appointment or notice of confirmation of election. By local 
authorities is meant the town council, which acts on the recom- 
mendation of the school deputation or the school board, Schul- 
vorstand, in communalities which form their own school cor- 
poration ; in manors the local authority is the owner, and he, 
in cooperation with the school board, selects the teachers; in 



172 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

other school corporations the school board or the school depu- 
tation is the electing body.^ 

Thus finally the German teacher is firmly fixed in his position. 
From the time he enters the normal preparatory school until 
Security of he is finally a full-fledged teacher four examinations 
Position must be passed. It is a process of selection, which 
only the best survive. There are two reasons for so many ex- 
aminations. The first reason is that a large number who wish 
to become teachers must be weeded out, and the second is that 
a high standard of ability is desired. Both of these results 
are obtained. Once a teacher is in the profession, however, he 
is there for all time. It is a very rare occurrence that a teacher 
is dismissed. He is a state official and does not have to depend 
on the whims of a local school board for his bread and butter. 
This sense of security takes a great burden of worry from the 
mind of the teacher, for he knows that he will be cared for the 
rest of his life and consequently does not have to suffer under 
the bugbear of dismissal, as do so many American teachers. 
The German teaching profession is a compact, permanent body, 
and unmolested by material cares can pursue serenely an educa- 
tional poHcy. Not only is the head of the school system of a 
city or district safe and secure, but so also are his subordinates. 
Removals of city superintendents never occur in Germany as 
they do in America. 

The sense of security which the German teacher feels sometimes 
produces a bad effect, that of indifference and routine performance 
of duty, the feeling, — *'I'll do just enough to escape censure. 
What's the use of overexertion?" The number of German 
teachers with this feeling is very small. I have seen some of 
that kind, but the vast majority work hard and work overtime. 
Every German official has a very great pride in the fulfillment 
of his duty. 

1 Schulunterhaltungsgesetz vom 28 Juli, igo6, p. 24, Heinze, Im Amt. 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 173 

After the first teachers' examination the young teacher enters 
the profession, as we have seen above. As a rule he is desig- 
nated then as candidate {Schulamtshewerher) . If he is unfit for 
military service, he is allowed to seek a position, and is appointed 
temporarily with all the rights of a teacher. His position is 
changed without further ado from a temporary to a permanent 
one, as soon as he has passed the second examination. If the 
candidate is fit for military service, he is not allowed to apply 
for a position, but is appointed only as substitute until he has 
satisfied his military requirements. Meanwhile he is sent 
wherever the county government desires. In reality, the can- 
didate who is unfit for military service has a professional and 
financial advantage over the candidate who is fit. 

Since 1900 the alternative of serving as a one-year volunteer 
or one year at the expense of the state has been given all elemen- 
tary school teachers. Teachers who are able serve wm^^^ 
at their own expense, because it gives them and their Service of 
profession a higher social standing. One-year active 
service costs from 700 to 800 M., while the Einjdhriger needs 
at least 25CX) M. Teachers who do not possess the means for 
serving as one year volunteers, are supported by the state. They 
serve only one year, but do not receive Schnuren (shoulder cords) 
as do those volunteers who pay their own expenses. Nor do those 
teachers who are supported by the state have all the rights and 
privileges of the regular one-year volunteers. They cannot choose 
their regiment nor their garrison. They must live in the barracks 
and receive the same food and equipment that the two-year men 
do. On the other hand, the teachers better financially situated 
have all of these advantages which are denied two-year men. 
% Teachers have all the privileges and rights of state servants^ 
and are direct officials of the state.^ Teachers have active but 

* Art. 23 of the Constitution, January 31, 1850. 
' Min. Erl. vom 19 /wm, J88g. 



174 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

not passive suffrage in the community, that is, they may vote, 
_ . ., but they may not be elected to office. A teacher in 

Privileges . . 

and Rights the exercise of his duty cannot leave the community 
in which his school is without the consent of his 
superiors. He is also not allowed to have his dwelling outside 
of the community in which he teaches. 

The teacher is excluded from certain kinds of offices. He 
cannot be a member of the magistracy nor of the town council, 
nor can he be called as juryman. He cannot accept other re- 
munerative employment without the consent of the school au- 
thorities. A special privilege is allowed the teacher as an official 
of the state in that he cannot be subjected to transfer from one 
position to another in form of punishment. He may be trans- 
ferred for the good of the service, but his position must be just 
as remunerative and just as high. Previous to 1909 elementary 
school teachers were not compelled to pay any kind of direct 
communal tax, i.e. income tax, but under a new law all teachers 
appointed since that time are required to pay communal taxes, 
as other persons are compelled to do. They are also required 
to pay state taxes. 

The Prussian women teachers are not allowed to marry and 
retain their positions in the schools. Through marriage the 
woman teacher not only loses her position, but also 
Prohibited ^11 claims to pension v/hich she may have acquired 
^r Women yp ^q ^-j^^^ time. The prohibition of marriage to 
women in its present form will not be able to hold 
out indefinitely. Already certain concessions have been made 
to married women teachers, in that childless widows and, in 
exceptional cases, widows with children are appointed to posi- 
tions, while widows and married women with husbands are 
appointed in exceptional cases temporarily, or to substitute 
positions. It is manifestly unjust that women lose their pen- 
sion rights on marriage. Some states in Germany grant a 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 175 

compensation for the surrender of these rights. In other states 
women teachers are allowed to reenter the school service in case 
the marriage is dissolved through the death of the man or for 
some other cause. Germany is recognizing that the schools 
need women, but to withdraw so many from the opportunity 
of marriage and child-bearing is too great a loss for the human 
resources of the state. 

The official position of the teacher is affected by his or her 
religious confession, sex, and subject of instruction. As far as 
the confession of teachers is concerned, there is little 
or no difference in the official standing of the teachers confession 
of one confession compared to that of another. Prot- 2f *^f 

^ . Teacher 

estant teachers and Catholic teachers have the same 
rights, the only difference is that the Protestant is generally ap- 
pointed to a Protestant school and the Catholic teaches Catholic 
children. 

Quite large differences exist between the position of the male 
and the female teachers. The character of the school com- 
munity, whether it is urban or rural, very often decides Position 
whether a woman or a man shall get the position. ^^ ^^^ 
In Catholic schools women are chosen in large numbers for girls' 
classes. The number of women teachers has increased of late 
years very rapidly on account of the lack of men teachers a few 
years ago. Now there is a surplus of women, and the state is 
unable to control the number preparing for the professioi;!, be- 
cause the girls prepare generally in private or city schools. Men 
are prepared in state normal schools and the number admitted 
can be cut down to the number needed. In many cases, women 
who filled positions temporarily during the time when male 
teachers were wanting have already been crowded out. In 
the country, where the teacher of the Volksschule is also em- 
ployed in the boys' agricultural continuation school, women can, 
of course, find no employment. In Prussia there are no regu- 



176 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

lations as to whether a man or a woman shall be appointed ; 
while in other German states it is generally regulated by law 
what positions can be occupied by women, and what are open 
to men. 

Generally speaking, the German elementary male teacher 
does not specialize. He is trained to teach all the subjects of 
Position and the Volksschule curriculum. Among the women 
Subject teachers there is more specialization. There are a 
great number of what are known as technische Lehrerinnen (female 
technical teachers), that is, teachers of special subjects such as 
sewing, physical training, cooking, and drawing, for which there 
are special examinations. It is only natural to expect that men 
will also specialize in the future, particularly if manual training 
finds general acceptance in the Volksschulen. 

Out of long past centuries the usage has come down of com- 
bining the position of teacher in rural communities with some 
form of service in the church. Accordingly the 
Combina- teacher is both servant of the church and the state. 

tion of 

School and Almost all German states have abolished the com- 
Offlces bination of the two offices, but it still exists in Prussia. 

For example, in the administrative district of Hilde- 
sheim, where this report was written, forty-six per cent of the 
teaching positions are organically connected with a church 
office. In cities such a combination rarely exists. Naturally 
the matter will give great trouble in regulation, for the church 
will not give up its hold on the school-teacher readily, and then 
equalization of property will also cause many difficulties. 

In visiting German elementary schools the teacher is one of 
the chief objects of interest. After one has observed several 
hundred classes, in all sorts of places, both in the city and in the 
country, one begins to form ideas of the elementary school teacher 
as a type. The question comes to mind over and over again, 
— How old is the teacher ? From what kind of family do these 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 177 

teachers come? Are they married? What is the general con- 
dition of their health ? What per cent of the teachers are women ? 
In other words, what are the personal relations of the German 
elementary teacher? Such questions in America are difficult 
to answer because of the sad neglect of school statistics. Under 
present conditions in America to find the origin or to determine 
the kind of family from which each elementary school teacher 
came would be absolutely impossible, though it is rather important 
to know the sources from which our teaching material is drawn. 
Studies of this nature have been made, but the results are 
based on comparatively few cases and the information was not 
always reliable. In Prussia it is a very easy matter to find out 
the answer to any of the above questions, and there is no doubt 
as to the authenticity of the figures. The age of the teachers 
will first be considered. 

Of every hundred men and women teachers the following 
numbers fell into the age groups indicated. 





MENi 


WOMEN 




City 


Country 


'Total 


City 


Country 


Total 


Under 30 years .... 

30-50 years 

Over 50 years .... 


19.4 
62.0 
18.0 


43-7 
40.9 

154 


34-3 
49 -o 
16.7 


38.7 
49-4 
11.9 


63.4 

29.0 

7.6 


47-5 
42.1 
10.4 



A study of the preceding table shows that one would find 
very few teachers under twenty years of age, while about one 
teacher out of every three is between twenty and Age of 
thirty years old. Among both men and women Teachers 
teachers about six of every ten are under forty years of age, 
about two in ten are between forty and fifty, and a like number 
are over fifty. This presents a striking contrast to the con- 
* Schtdstatistische Blatter, vol. XI, No. II, loi. 



N 



178 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 






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PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 179 

ditions in American public schools, where the teaching body is 
very much younger, and consequently much more changeable. 
The average teaching life of the American elementary teacher 
is not much over five years, or perhaps not that much, while 
at least eighty per cent (80%) of German teachers have taught 
longer than that. The sole explanation for the permanency of 
the German elementary teaching force is that the occupation 
there is a profession and the teacher holds the position for life 
or until pensioned. 

The one thing that strikes an American visitor most peculiarly 
is the very large number of men teaching in the elementary 
schools, even in the lowest classes. One cannot help „ 

' ^ Men and 

feeling that a man teacher of fifty years of age is Women 
somewhat out of place m the first grade of an elemen- 
tary school. The chances are that he is out of sympathy with 
the children. It is true that the older teachers are generally 
assigned to the higher classes, if the school happens to be in the 
city, and the lower classes are assigned to younger teachers or 
to women. There has always been a very strong prejudice 
against the woman teacher in the German schools, and she has 
worked her way in with difficulty. At the present time 78.8% 
of the teachers are men and 21.2% women. Within the years 
1901-1911 the number of women teachers increased 10,892, 
or 79.2%, while the number of men increased only 23%. In 
spite of the feeling against women teachers, the number is in- 
creasing very rapidly, and in some sections the women are almost 
equal in number to the men. The idea prevails among German 
men teachers that women have not the same amount of in- 
tellectual ability that men have, and they merely tolerate the 
women, all the while looking down upon them. Women teachers 
are carefully kept out of the upper classes of boys' schools, and 
even of girls' schools in some subjects. In all the boys' schools 
that I have visited, in which women teachers were employed, 



i8o PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the rector has always, with one exception, apologized for his 
women teachers, when as a matter of fact he could have much 
better regretted that some of his men were not quite as capable 
as they should have been. In one city, while visiting a school, 
I asked to see a particular class, and the principal replied, ''Of 
course, you may visit it, but I am afraid you will be disappointed, 
for there is a substitute there to-day and a woman at that." 
This tends to show the general attitude of the men toward the 
intellectual and teaching abiHty of the women. It will also be 
noticed that the women prefer to teach in the cities, where though 
the salaries are about the same as in the country, the school is 
generally graded and the conditions under which they have to 
work are much more favorable. 

From the following table it will be seen that about 65% of 

the men teachers are married, about 32% are single, and about 

■z% have been married. The number of single men 

Marriage o /^ ^ 

among the corresponds very closely to the number of men 
Teachers teachers under thirty years of age, but this must not 
lead to the supposition that no teachers are married before that 
age. It is, however, a rather safe assertion, that a very large 
majority of the men are either past thirty or within two or three 
years of it, when they marry. Conditions in Germany do not 
permit a young teacher to marry much before that time. First 
of all, his salary doesn't warrant marriage before that age, and, 
further, there seems to be a tendency to late marriage out of 
personal reasons, more or less questionable. It will also be 
noticed that there are 39.6% of the teachers in the country who 
are unmarried, while only 21.3% of the men in the cities are single. 
This fact is no doubt explained in that a great many young men 
begin their teaching careers in the country and, after having 
passed the second examination, seek positions in the city and 
there marry. Among the women, of course, the unmarried 
form a very large portion of the women teaching body. Over 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER i8i 

99% of the women teachers are unmarried, there being only 
22 married women in the whole Prussian system, and .9% who 
are widowed. A large number of women drop out of the schools 
between the ages of thirty and thirty-five in order to get married. 
If they quit before that time or rather before they have taught 
ten years, they have to make restitution to the state in case 
they have received aid for purposes of education. 

MARRIAGE TABLE OF PRUSSIAN TEACHERS IN THE 
VOLKSSCHULEN 



m 




Single 


Married 


Widowed 




No. 


Per Cent 


No. 


Per Cent 


No. 


Per Cent 


Men Teachers in : 
City Schools 
Country Schools 
Total 


r 

igii 
1911 
1911 


7,553 
22,257 
29,810 


21.3 
39-6 

32.5 


27,080 
33,021 
60,101 


76.5 
58.7 
65.6 


786 

946 

1732 


2.2 
1.7 
1^9 


Women Teachers in 
City Schools 
Country Schools 
Total 


1911 
191 1 
1911 


15,663 

8,733 

24,396 


98.7 
99-4 
99.0 


12 

10 

22 


O.I 
O.I 

0.1 


186 

46 

232 


1.2 
.5 

•9 



It is a difficult matter to obtain statistics which would show 
accurately the condition of health and the general constitutional 
character of the elementary teaching force, but there Health of 
are several things worthy of notice here, some based on Teachers 
our own observation, and others based upon official figures. 
To us at least six out of every ten male teachers seemed to have 
very robust health. This was not only true among the younger 
teachers, but also among the older. We may account for this 
in several ways. First, as we shall see later, a rather large 
percentage of the teachers come from the country or from rural 
districts, and consequently bring more physical strength into 



i82 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the profession than do the members from the cities. Next, 
no one is allowed to become a teacher who is not able to meet 
the prescribed physical requirements. Another element con- 
tributing largely to the health and general spiritual welfare 
of the teachers is the lack of worry. Being parts of a system 
where the loss of position and income is well-nigh impossible, 
where fear of rebuke from superiors is almost a minus quantity, 
the teachers' general frame of mind and high degree of content- 
ment wiW conduce to physical well-being. 

In asking teachers in what way they suffered most, we have 
generally received the reply that headaches and throat trouble 
were the commonest causes of complaint. The matter of head- 
aches is easy of explanation. They are caused, we are sure, 
ninety-nine times out of one hundred by poor ventilation. Fresh 
air is one thing German schools cannot boast of. In fact, 
during the recitation the windows are kept closed and the ven- 
tilators may or may not be open. Such a condition of the air 
not only produces frequent headaches, but toward the end of 
the day causes the teacher to be sleepy, or at least to appear so. 
By the end of the day we mean twelve or one o'clock, the closing 
time of most schools in cities. Throat complaints are caused 
by the excessive amount of talking required of the teachers, 
as demanded by the oral methods so largely employed in German 
schools. Some teachers have told me that they frequently 
give written work in order to get a Httle rest for their throats. 
The teachers talk not only a great deal, but very loud and dis- 
tinctly, so that the strain on the throat is very great and hence 
the complaints. 

One might be led to believe that poor ventilation in the schools 
would lead to tuberculosis. Judging from a comparatively 
small number of cases, we cannot draw the conclusion that tuber- 
culosis is a disease to which teachers are particularly subject.-^ 

^ Schulsiatistisclie Blatter, vol. XI, No. ii, p. io6. 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 183 

The figures are based on the report of the ''Life Assurance So- 
ciety of German Teachers." 

Between 1897 and 191 2 there were 2167 deaths in the mem- 
bership of the society, 247 or 11.4% of which were caused by 
tuberculosis of one sort or another. In 191 1 tuberculosis was 
the cause of 8.7% of all the deaths in Prussia. Thus the per- 
centage of deaths among teachers from tuberculosis is a little 
higher than among the general population, but the difference 
is not great enough to warrant our saying that the German 
teacher is more inclined to the disease in question than are 
workers in other fields. 

We get a very close insight into the general health or physical 
strength of the male teacher by examining statistics which tell 
in how far they have satisfied their compulsory mil- 
itary service. Every German citizen, if he is physi- Heafth of 
cally able, has to serve in the army, and as is well ^® ^*^® 

Teachers 

known, the training is very strenuous and makes 
large demands upon the physical strength of the recruits. There- 
fore, if a man is taken into service, it is a fair indication that he 
has plenty of health and strength. 

These figures show that only 45% of the men teachers have 
fulfilled their mihtary obligations, while 46.6% are declared 
either totally unfit for service, or have been placed on the Ersatz- 
Reserve, which means practically the same thing. This state of 
affairs shows us very clearly that the general health and physical 
abiHty of the Prussian teacher leaves much to be desired. After 
examining the figures for the years 1889-91, one is led to beheve 
that the work in the Seminar and in the first few years of teach- 
ing is responsible for the condition existing. The boys enter 
the Seminar in tolerably good health, but let us notice their 
condition after they have finished their course and have been 
teaching a few years. Of the 7177 teachers of the years 1889-91, 
there are 1535 temporarily excused from mihtary service on 



1 84 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



account of health, 503 have been put in the reserve, and 819 have 
been declared absolutely unfit for military service. 



MILITARY SERVICE OF ELEMENTARY TEACHERS IN PRUSSIA, 1911 1 







Birth 


No. OF 

Teachers 


No. Who Have Satisfied 
Military Requirements 


No. Who Have Not Satisfied 

Military Requiremenis, Divided 

AS Follows: 


Year of 


by less 

than I yr. 

service 


as I 
yr. vol- 
unteer 


by at 
least I 

yr.'s. 
service 


Postponed 
Service 


Put on 
Reserve 






on 
request 


account 

of 
health 


not good 


1891 . 




894 


I 


2 


2 


479 


357 


12 


41 


1890 






2,645 


I 


31 


129 


1,453 


824 


50 


157 


1889 






3,638 




83 


423 


1,713 


354 


441 


624 


1888 






• 3,764 


I 


160 


734 


1,202 


96 


573 


998 


1887 






3,646 


4 


274 


922 


467 


62 


739 


1,178 


r886 






3,354 


5 


486 


901 


137 


36 


683 


1,106 


1885 






3,156 


2 


493 


913 


33 


15 


643 


1,057 


1884 






3,125 


2 


533 


867 


6 


13 


662 


1,042 


1883 






2,861 


4 


572 


766 


2 


23 


547 


947 


1882 






2,823 


4 


512 


835 


I 


II 


537 


923 


1881 






2,766 


30 


398 


891 


I 


8 


568 


870 


1880-1876 




13,341 


4,121 


672 


22-35 




75 


2,740 


3,498 


1875-1871 




11,396 


6,562 


5 


34 


I 


51 


2,217 


2,526 


1870-1866 




8,936 


4,966 


II 


14 




75 


1,419 


2,151 


I 865-1 86 I 




10,905 


5,311 


14 


22 


I 


24 


3,679 


1,854 


I 860-1 856 




7,166 


3,362 


16 


29 




33 


2,183 


1,543 


1855-1851 




4,394 


1,941 


29 


41 




23 


1,448 


912 


1850 and £ 


earlier 


2,833 


934 


22 


66 


I 


9 


1,125 


676 


Total . . 


91,643 


27,251 


4,313 


8,924 


5,497 


2,089 


20,566 


22,103 


Born in th 


e city 


29,305 


6,936 


1,739 


2,871 


2,330 


818 


6,727 


7,884 


Born in 


the 


















country 




62,338 


20,315 


2,574 


6,953 


3,167 


1,271 


13,839 


14,219 


Of each 


IOC 
















i 


teachers 


born 
















1 


in the ci 


ty 


100 


23-7 


5-9 


9.8 


7-9 


2.8 


23.0 


26,9 


Bom in 


the 


















country 




100 


32.6 


4.1 


II. 2 


5-1 


2.3 


22.2 


22.8 


Total . . 




29.7 


4-7 


10.7 


6.0 


2.0 


22.5 


24.1 



^ Preussische Statistik, Heft 231, Teil I, p. 261. 



PREPARATION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 185 



OCCUPATIONAL ORIGIN OF THE TEACHERS IN PRUSSIAN 
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Occupation of the Fathers of the 
Teachers 


The Following Numbers of Teachers Come 
from Home of the Various Occupations 


Men 


Women 


Of icxjMale 
Teachers 


Of 100 

Female 

Teachers 




1911 


1911 


1911 


19x1 


A. Farming, gardening, livestock, 1," 
forestry, and fishing ] 

B. Mining, smelting, industry, and 1 , * 
building ] 

a. 

C. Commerce and trade < h. 

. '^' 

D. Household Work. Day labor- 1 , ' 
ing. Personal service ] 

E. Public service and the so-called 1 , " 
free occupations ] 

Among which : 

University and higher 

teachers-rectors, normal school, 
middle school and head-teachers . 

Elementary teachers 

Other teachers 

F. Without occupation 

• 

a. 
Total A-F I b. 

c. 


26,067 

1,600 

827 

18,983 
3,565 
2,795 

7,992 
1,990 
2,518 

335 

16,332 

3,234 
1,156 

65 

1,742 

13,467 
116 

4,249 

73,623 

10,389 

7,631 


2,912 

302 

27 

4,385 
1,276 

743 

3,024 

1,683 

646 

60 

5,499 

2,205 
231 

467 

1,076 

2,198 

73 

1,657 

17,477 
5,466 
1,707 


28.4 

1.8 

•9 

20.7 

3-9 

3-1 

2.2 
2.7 

•4 

17.8 

3-5 

1-3 

.1 

1.9 

14.7 

.1 

4.6 
80.4 
II-3 

8.3 


II.8 

1-3 
.1 

17.8 

5-2 

3-0 

12.3 
6.8 
2.6 

.2 

22.3 

9.0 

.9 

1.9" 

4.4 

8.9 

•3 

6.7 

70.9 

22.2 

6.9 


Total 


91,643 


24,650 


100. 


lOO.O 



In order to judge the elementary teacher of the Prussian 
Volksschule it is interesting and necessary to know from what 
kind of home he or she has come. Fortunately such origin of 
information is not so hard to obtain in Prussia as Teachers 
in America, and that which is obtainable is reliable and not 



1 86 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

merely based upon the word of the individual teacher, who is 
very apt to give the calling of father quite a Httle higher than 
it really is. Among the men teachers in 191 1 a little over 30% 
came from families whose fathers were employed in some kind 
of farming, forestry, or fishing; over 27% from homes where 
the father was occupied in mining, smelting, industry, or build- 
ing ; something over 13% whose fathers were in business of some 
kind ; 22.6% came from families where the father was employed 
in some kind of public service, chiefly that of teaching in the 
Volksschulen. The fathers of about 5% were unemployed or 
pensioned. Less than 1% were children of day laborers or 
servants. Among the women teachers the percentages were 
respectively 13.2%, 26%, 21.7%, 32.2%, 6.7%, and .2%. Thus 
we see a very large percentage of teachers come from rural homes, 
and practically all from the so-called middle class. 



CHAPTER X 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 



In the constitutional charter of 1850, Article 25, we read : 
'*The state guarantees the teachers in the Volksschulen a fixed 
income which corresponds to local conditions. In- salary 
struction in the public Volksschulen is given free." ^^^^ 
Just in what manner this clause was to be carried out was never 
indicated, for the general school law proposed in this charter 
has never been passed. Consequently the several provinces 
paid their teachers on the basis of their own individual salary 
laws, or the administrative counties were allowed to regulate this 
question to suit themselves. Nevertheless the nineteenth cen- 
tury saw a great material improvement in the matter of teachers' 
salaries. Knabe,^ in discussing the increase in salaries, gives a 
table showing the average yearly income of teachers from 182 1 
till 1 90 1. The increase in cities up to 1901 was over two hun- 
dred per cent and is now still more, due to the new salary law of 
1909, while the salaries of country school-teachers were multi- 
plied by more than 6. These figures do not correspond exactly 
to those of the official records but approximate them closely. 

AVERAGE INCOME OF TEACHERS 



Cities , 
Country 
Both . 



1821 


1861 


1871 


1891 


$iSs) 


$211 


$260 


$425 


64 


137 


169 


313 


80 


159 


199 


354 



1901 



$544 
402 

458 



1 Das deutsche Unterrichtswesen, p. 17. 
187 



i88 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



It is also interesting to compare the increase in male teachers* 
and female teachers' salaries in Prussia since 1886. The very 
marked increase from 1906 to 191 1 is due to the new salary- 
scale put in force in 1909. The following table gives the aver- 
age income of men and women teachers both in the city and in 
the country.^ 



Year 


Men Teachers 


Women Teachers 




City 


Country 


City 


Country 


1886 
1891 
1896 
1901 
1906 
1911 


$4082 

453 
507 
595 
640 
804 


$283 

316 

339 
410 

425 
600 


$304 
315 
340 

393 
421 
500 


$238 

254 
283 
320 

330 

406 



The average salary serves only to show the general tendency 
of increase and it gives a very imperfect picture of actual salaries 
paid. For example, a very few highly paid teachers can bring 
the average salary rather high, but this average will not give us 
any idea of what most of the teachers receive. The following 
tables give the reader after a brief glance a very definite idea 
of the range of salaries and the number of teachers receiving 
such salaries and at what period of service these salaries are 
received. The form of these tables can also be commended to 
American administrators in reporting accurately salaries actually 
paid. Salary scales will be given later. 



^ Figures based on statistics taken from the Statistische Jakrbucher fiir den preus- 
sichen Staat, for the years immediately following the dates given. Also found in 
Schulstatistische Blatter, vol. XI, No. 8, p. 77. 

2 A dollar has been taken to equal 4 marks, though its value is about 4.20 M. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 



189 





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PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



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TEACHERS' SALARIES 197 

A careful study of these tables gives us something more than 
an idea of the salaries actually paid. First of all, we are struck 
by the length of service of a large percentage of the Length of 
teachers. Of male teachers in the cities more than Service 
45 per cent have been in the service for more than twenty years 
and only 6.69 per cent have had less than six years' experience, 
while 77.67 per cent have served more than ten years. In the 
country 25.89 per cent of the male teachers have taught less 
than four years. It is the policy of the government to send the 
young teachers to country schools for the first few years follow- 
ing graduation from the normal school and before the time of 
permanent appointment, which fact accounts for the rather large 
number of young teachers in the country. As soon as the 
teachers have passed their second examination, they apply for 
positions in cities, thus making room again for young teachers 
in the rural communities. Although we find a larger percentage 
of teachers of few years' experience in the rural schools than in 
city schools, over 53 per cent of all men teachers in the country 
have taught more than ten years. 

As a rule the women teachers both in the city and in the 
country are younger in the service than the men. In cities 
21.74 per cent of women teachers have taught less than women 
four years, and 51.01 per cent have taught less than ten Teachers 
years, as compared with 6.69 per cent and 22.33 P^r cent respec- 
tively among the men. The women apparently drift from rural 
districts to cities as soon as possible or they leave the service 
entirely, for we find that 42.95 per cent of them have served 
less than four years, while more than 71 per cent have taught less 
than ten years. 

Practically none of the German elementary teachers are 
under twenty years of age. Of the male teachers in cities 19.24 
per cent are between twenty and thirty years; 35.04 per cent 
are between thirty and forty ; while the remainder, over 45 per 



1 98 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

cent, are over forty years of age. In the country among men 
teachers 25.97 P^^ ^^^^ ^^^ under twenty-five years; 40.20 per 
Age of cent are between twenty-five and forty, while the 

Teachers remaining 33.83 per cent are over forty. Among 
women teachers 18.14 per cent are under the age of twenty-five ; 
a Httle over 50 per cent are between twenty-five and forty years. 
In rural districts, 40.59 per cent of the women teachers are under 
twenty-five years, and 40.61 per cent are between twenty-five and 
forty years of age. 

The tables given in this chapter show the distribution of 
salaries of rural and city school-teachers of the Prussian ele- 
mentary schools. In cities the upper 55 per cent of 

Salaries 

the male teachers receive a yearly salary of more than 
seven hundred and fifty dollars ($750), while in rural sections 
50.50 per cent of the men receive more than five hundred and 
fifty dollars ($550). Of the country women teachers 49.56 
per cent receive a yearly income of over $375. One notes the 
decided advantage men have over women in the matter of 
salaries in cities, for 50 per cent of the men receive over $550, 
far above the median salary in the women's scale. In the cities, 
49.42 per cent of the women have salaries higher than $475, also 
considerably lower than the median salary for men in cities. 

While the salaries paid to Prussian elementary teachers are 
by no means high, they are higher than American salaries in 
corresponding schools if we consider all of our elementary schools, 
in that there is a larger percentage of German teachers than of 
American teachers receiving over $750. 

Some improvement was made in the matter of salaries of the 
teachers of the Volksschulen from 1851 to 1897. In 1873 the 
The Salary State insured to the teachers increases based on length 
Law of 1897 Qf service. Also by the laws of 1888 and 1889 concern- 
ing the lightening of the school expenditures on the part of the 
local communities, the general average of salaries was increased. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 199 

The most important law concerning teachers' incomes was that ^ 
of March 3, 1897. This law assured to every teacher a fixed, 
fundamental, or base salary, and in addition thereto, increases 
based on age, and free lodgings, or a corresponding compensa- 
tion for rent. The salaries were very materially increased by this 
law, and still more so by the new one of May 26, 1909, which 
retained the principles of the law of 1897, but instead of mak- 
ing the fundamental salary a minimum, it made it the normal 
salary for all teachers, in addition to which there are several 
other units which make up the final salary. 

The income of a teacher in the Prussian Volksschule, after he 
or she has been permanently appointed, consists of a funda- 
mental salary, of successive increases based on length The Final 
of service, and free lodgings or compensation therefor. Salary 2 
In some cases, as is shown below, increments are granted to cover 
local conditions ; and some teaching positions, such as those of 
the principal or of a teacher in the Hilfsschule, have extra salary 
attached to them. The fundamental salary is 1400 M. yearly 
for men and 1200 M. yearly for women. Physical training, 
cooking, and household arts teachers may receive a smaller base 
salary than the ordinary teacher, but it must not be less than 
1 100 M. for men or 1000 M. for women. Temporarily appointed 
teachers or those who have been in the service less than four 
years receive a fundamental salary of one fifth less than ordinary 
teachers. In cases where teachers fill positions which combine 
church and school offices, the salary is somewhat higher than 
that given above. 

The first additional salary element is one granted for length of 
service. This increment is called an AUerszulage. There are 
nine such increments, the first being granted after seven years 

^Gesetz, hetrefend das Diensteinkommen der Lehrer und Lehrerinnen an den 
offentlicheti Volksschulen. 

^ Lehrerhesoldungsgesetz, p. 74. Heinze, Im Amt, Goslar, 1913. 



200 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



of service, and the remaining eight, after intervals of three years 
each. The maximum salary is reached then in(7 + (8X3) = 3i) 
Service thirty-one years, or generally in the fifty-first year 

Increment q( ^j^g teacher's life, since most of the teachers begin 
at twenty. The first two increments for men are 200 M. 
yearly, the third and fourth each 250 M., and the remaining 
five are 200 M. each. For the women each of the first two in- 
crements is 100 M., and the others are 150 M., yearly. These 
increments tabulated appear as follows : 



After 7 Years' Service 


Men 


Women 


After 7 years' service 

After 10 years' service 

After 13 years' service 

After 16 years' service 

After 19 years' service 

After 22 years' service 

After 25 years' service 

After 28 years' service 

After 31 years' service 


200 M. = $5o 

400 M.= 100 

650 M.= 162 

900 M.= 225 

IIOO M.= 275 

1300 M.= 325 

1500 M.= 375 

1700 M.= 425 

1900 M.= 475 


100 M. = $25 
200 M. = 50 
350 M.= 87 
500 M.= 125 
650 M.= 162 
800 M.= 200 
950 M.= 237 
iiooM.= 275 
1250 M.= 312 



Thus far there have been mentioned two elements of the final 
salary, the base and the service increment, which together 
would amount after thirty-one years' service to 1400 M. plus 
1900 M. = 3300 M., and 1200 M. plus 1250 M. = 2450 M., 
for men and women respectively. 

The next factor going to make up the salary of the teacher is 
the Mietsentschddigung, which means compensation for rent. 
The teacher either receives free lodgings or a sum of 
money in lieu thereof. All cities, towns, and villages 
are grouped into five classes, A, B, C, D, and E, each 
schadigung^ place according to the cost of living and other local 



The Lodg 
ing or 
Rental, 
Mietsent- 



1 Up to this point the salary is composed of three parts, the base salary, the 
service increment, and the rental compensation. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 



201 



conditions which prevail. The following table will show the 
amounts paid yearly in the various classes : 



Type of Community 


Men 


Women 


Community in Class A not less than . . . 
Community in Class B not less than . . . 
Community in Class C not less than . . . 
Community in Class D not less than . . . 
Community in Class E not less than . . . 


800 M. 
630 M. 
520 M. 
450 M. 
330 M. 


560 M. 
470 M. 
390 M. 
330 M. 
250 M. 



These amounts are, of course, the minima, and in many 
places the teachers receive more.^ Temporarily employed or 
unmarried teachers without a household establishment of their 
own, or teachers who have been less than four years in the serv- 
ice, receive a rental compensation of one third less than regular 
teachers. A great many unmarried teachers estabHsh bachelor 
apartments and in this way entitle themselves to the extra 
compensation. All of the rental compensation is not reckoned 
in with the other units of the salary, when the pension is granted, 
but only the average of the five classes. 

The next factor is the local increment, or Ortszulage, which all 
teachers receive in places where it is permitted to be granted. 
This increment is given to meet extraordinary local t .j 
conditions. School communities (Schulverbande) in crement, 
which previous to January i, 1909, the fundamental ''^^""^^ 
salary and the service increment for ordinary teachers amounted 
to 2800 M., or school communities in which the final salary 
was more than 4000 M., are permitted to grant a local incre- 
ment of not more than 900 M. for men, and 600 M. for women. 
Cities which form a district for themselves are also allowed to 
grant these increments. This increment, as the service incre- 



1 Principals and head teachers of schools of six or more than six successive 
classes receive a larger rental than other teachers. 



202 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

ment, is generally a progressive one, based on length of service. 
The local increments must not increase the former final salary, 
that existing before 1909, exclusive of the Amtszulage (see be- 
low), beyond 4200 M. for men and 2950 M. for women. It is 
seen, then, that every teacher in the Prussian Volksschulen does 
not receive this local increment, and this increment is not the 
same in all places, but that it is given to meet varying local 
conditions. The fundamental salary and the service increments 
are the same for all teachers, while the rental compensation and 
the local increments vary with the community. As a rule, the 
last two units are largest in the large cities where Hving expenses 
are the highest. 

Some teaching positions have another increment attached to 

them. Directors of schools, w^hether they be principals, head 

teachers, first teachers, or teachers who conduct a 

Special . 

emoluments, school alone, receive what is known as a yearly Amts- 
Amtszuiage ^^^^^^ (ofi&ce increment). Ordinary teachers do not 
receive such increments. Section 24 of the salary law of 1909 
reads : 

Directors of schools with six or more successive classes receive a pen- 
sionable bonus or increment of at least 700 M. yearly. Directresses of 
the same kinds of schools receive an increment of at least 500 ; and other 
directors and directresses one of at least 200 M. yearly. . . . First teachers 
in schools for which no director has been appointed and teachers of one- 
class schools are granted a yearly bonus of 100 M. Also teachers of ab- 
normal children receive an Amtszulage. 

Thus we see how the salary of a Prussian elementary teacher 
is made up of its different factors. The salary is constituted in 
this way in order to equalize the incomes of teachers Hving under 
greatly varying circumstances. This equahzation is brought 
about by means of the rental increment and the local incre- 
ment. The former is constant as far as the length of service 
is concerned, but varies with the community, while the latter 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 



203 



varies with the community and generally with the length of 
service. 

The following tables are the salary scales now in force in 
Stettin, in Pomerania : 



SALARIES OF MARRIED MEN TEACHERS IN THE 
iVOLKSSCHULEN) OF STETTIN 



Years of Service 


Base Salary 


Rental 
Increment 


Service 
Increment 


Local Total 
Increment Salary 


1-4 years . . . 


1120 M. 


470 M. 





100 M. 


= 1690 M. 


5-7 years . 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


— 


100 M. 


= 2150 M. 


8-10 years . 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


200 M. 


100 M. 


= 2350 M. 


1 1- 1 3 years 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


4CX) M. 


250 M. 


= 2700 M. 


14-16 years 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


650 M. 


250 M. 


= 2950 M. 


17-19 years 




1400 M. 


650 M, 


900 M. 


250 M. 


= 3200 M. 


20-22 years 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


1 100 M. 


300 M. 


= 3450 M. 


23-25 years 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


1300 M. 


300 M. 


= 3650 M. 


26-28 years 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


1500 M. 


400 M. 


= 3950 M. 


29-31 years 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


1700 M. 


400 M. 


= 4150 M. 


32 and above 




1400 M. 


650 M. 


1900 M. 


500 M. 


= 4450 M. 



Unmarried male teachers who do not have their own house- 
hold receive a rental increment of 470 M. instead of 650 M. 
Otherwise their incomes are the same as those of the married 
teachers. A principal of a Volksschule in Stettin gets 825 M. 
for rental compensation as compared to 650 M. received by the 
ordinary teachers. The Amtszulage received by the principals 
in this city is 1000 M. yearly. The salaries of principals, then, 
are calculated on the same basis as salaries of teachers, but the 
principal receives 1000 M. yearly Amtszulage, which an ordinary 
teacher has no claim to, and also the principal receives 175 M. 
more rental compensation than a teacher does. Counting 
everything together, then, a principal in Stettin receives 11 75 M. 
more than does a married male teacher of the same number of 
years of service. Head teachers in schools for mentally defi- 



204 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



cient children receive a yearly bonus {Amtszulage) of 500 M., 
while ordinary teachers in such institutions receive 200 M. 
The table given above is merely to give the idea of how salaries 
are computed. The salaries paid in the city mentioned are about 
the lowest in Prussia in towns of over two hundred thousand 
population. 

SALARIES OF WOMEN TEACHERS IN STETTIN 



Years of Service 


Base Salary 


Rental 
Increment 


Service 
Increment 


Local Total 
Increment Salary 


1-7 years . . . 


1200 M. 


470 M. 


— 


— 


= 1670 M. 


8-10 years . 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


100 M. 


50 M. 


= 1820 M. 


11-13 years 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


200 M. 


100 M, 


= 1970 M. 


14-16 years 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


350 M. 


100 M. 


= 2120 M. 


17-19 years 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


500 M. 


100 M. 


= 2270 M. 


20-22 years 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


650 M. 


100 M. 


= 2420 M. 


23-25 years 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


800 M. 


100 M. 


= 2570 M. 


26-28 years 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


950 M. 


100 M. 


= 2720 M. 


29-31 years 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


iioo M. 


100 M. 


= 2870 M. 


32 and after 




1200 M. 


470 M. 


1250 M. 


100 M. 


= 3020 M. 



A very cursory inspection of the tables just given will con- 
vince the reader that the theory of equal pay has not made very 
marked progress in Germany. The schoolmistress is a com- 
paratively new thing, but her numbers are gradually increasing 
in the Volksschulen. The theory that the same work when done 
by a man is worth more than when done equally well by a woman 
has never been attacked. The German school man says quite 
frankly, ''Of course, a man teacher is better than a woman 
teacher," and that finishes the discussion. The writer be- 
lieves that the presence of a large percentage of women in the 
Volksschulen of a city indicates an advance. The statistics show 
that where there is the largest percentage of women employed 
in the Volksschulen, there one will find the smallest number of 
pupils per teacher, and the greatest amount of money expended 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 



205 



per pupil, and that these school systems are generally pointed 
out as being the best in Germany. 

Below are given at length tables taken from the Ministerial 
Order of July 20, 191 2, which give a general idea of salaries paid 
in the various large cities of Germany, exclusive of the rental 
compensation. The first tables give the rental compensation as 
paid in the several provinces. 



RENTAL COMPENSATION SCALE FOR THE SEVERAL PROVINCES 
FOR DIRECTORS OF SCHOOLS OF SIX OR MORE SUCCESSIVE 
CLASSES 



Province 


Classes of LocALrrizs 


Amount 
OF Rental 
Compen- 
sation 




A 


B 


c 


D 


El 


E2 


E3 


E4 


SUBJ. TO 

Pensions 


East Prussia . . 
West Prussia 
BerUn .... 
Brandenburg 
Pomerania . . 
Posen .... 
Silesia .... 
Saxony . . . 
Schleswig-Hol- 

stein .... 
Hannover . . . 
Westphalia . . 
Hesse-Nassau . 
Rhine Province 


1000 M. 
900 M. 
1000 M. 
1000 M. 
1000 M. 

920 M. 
950 M. 

900 M. 
880 M. 
900 M. 
900 M. 
900 M. 


900 M. 

780 M. 

850 M. 
825 M. 
850 M. 
840 M. 
850 M. 

700 M. 
700 M. 
750 M. 
800 M. 
750 M. 


700 M. 
640 M. 

690 M. 

6S0M. 
680 M. 
670 M. 
650 M. 

630 M. 
620 M. 
680 M. 
700 M. 
680 M. 


570 M. 
550 M. 

600 M. 
580 M. 
550 M. 
550 M. 
600 M. 

530 M. 
540 M. 
580 M. 
580 M. 

580 M. 


470 M. 
460 M. 

4SoM. 
480 M. 
480 M. 
500 M. 
SCO M. 

480 M. 
480 M. 
520 M. 
520 M. 
520 M. 


380 M. 
420 M. 

350 M. 
420 M. 
380 M. 
420 M. 
450 M. 

380 M. 
380 M. 
420 M. 
440 M. 
420 M. 


300 M. 
320 M. 

250 M. 
360 M. 

320 M. 
340 M. 

280 M. 
300 M. 
340 M. 




250 M. 
250 M. 

260 M. 


710 M. 
654 M. 
1000 M. 
698 M. 
701 M. 
688 M. 
670.5 M. 
707 M. 

638 M. 
624 M, 
666 M. 
674 M. 
676 M. 



Each locality is placed in one of the classes into which its 
province is divided, and the figures given show the lowest rental 
compensation any locality assigned to that class can pay. The 
rental compensation plus the totals in the last column of table D 
gives the complete salary in twenty-seven of the largest cities in 
Prussia. 



2o6 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



RENTAL COMPENSATION SCALE FOR OTHER DIRECTORS 
AND MALE TEACHERS 







Amount 




Classes or Localities 


OF Rental 






COMPEN- 


Province 








A 


B 


C 


D 


El 


E2 


E3 


E4 


Pension- 
able 


East Prussia . . 


800 M. 


750 M. 


600 M. 


500 M. 


400 M. 


330 M. 


250 M. 


— 


605 M. 


West Prussia . . 


800 M. 


630 M. 


520 M. 


450 M. 


360 M. 


320 M. 


250 M. 


— 


542 M. 


Berlin .... 


800 M. 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


800 M. 


Brandenburg . . 


800 M. 


650 M. 


520 M. 


450 M. 


3SoM. 


280 M. 


200 M. 


— 


539.33 M. 


Pomerania . . . 


800 M. 


650 M. 


520 M. 


450 M. 


370 M. 


330 M. 


230 M. 


— 


546 M. 


Posen .... 


— 


700 M. 


S70 M. 


460 M. 


380 M. 


300 M. 


— 


— 


574 M. 


Silesia .... 


800 M. 


720 M. 


550 M. 


450 M. 


420 M. 


350 M. 


260 M. 


200 M. 


565.50 M. 


Saxony .... 


800 M. 


650 M. 


580 M. 


460 M. 


380 M. 


340 M. 


260 M. 


200 M. 


557 M. 


Schleswig-Holstein 


800 M. 


630 M. 


530 M. 


450 M. 


400 M. 


320 M. 


— 


— 


554 M. 


Hannover . . . 


800 M. 


630 M. 


520 M. 


450 M. 


400 M. 


300 M. 


220 M. 


— 


541.33 M. 


Westphalia . . 


800 M. 


650 M. 


580 M. 


Soo M. 


4SoM. 


350 M. 


250 M. 


— 


576 M. 


Hesse-Nassau . . 


810 M. 


680 M. 


600 M. 


500 M. 


4SoM. 


375 M. 


300 M. 


220 M. 


585.25 M. 


Rhine Province 


800 M. 


650 M. 


580 M. 


500 M. 


450 M. 


350 M. 


— 




586 M. 



RENTAL COMPENSATION SCALE FOR WOMEN TEACHERS IN 

THE VOLKSSCHULEN 









Pension- 




Classes of Localities 




able Por- 
tion OF 


Province 






Rental 
Compen- 
sation 




A 


B 


C 


D 


El 


E2 


E3 


E4 


East Prussia . . 


600 M. 


500 M. 


400 M. 


330 M. 


250 M. 


220 M. 


180 M. 


— 


410 M. 


West Prussia . . 


560 M. 


470 M. 


390 M. 


330 M. 


260 M. 


220 M. 


x8oM. 


— 


394 M. 


Berlin .... 


560 M. 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


— 


560 M. 


Brandenburg . . 


560 M. 


470 M. 


390 M. 


330 M. 


250 M. 


200 M. 


150 M. 


— 


390 M. 


Pomerania . . . 


560 M. 


470 M. 


390 M. 


330 M. 


290 M. 


250 M. 


180 M. 


— 


398 M. 


Posen .... 


— 


480 M. 


400 M. 


330 M. 


280 M. 


220 M. 


— 


— 


404 M. 


Silesia . . 


560 M. 


500 M. 


410 M. 


330 M. 


300 M. 


250 M. 


190 M. 


140 M. 


404 M. 


Saxony .... 


560 M. 


470 M. 


390 M. 


330 M. 


270 M. 


230 M. 


190 M. 


150 M. 


392 M. 


Schleswig-Holstein 


560 M. 


470 M. 


390 M. 


330 M. 


250 M. 


180 M. 


— 


— 


393 M. 


Hannover . . . 


560 M. 


470 M. 


390 M. 


330 M. 


270 M. 


220 M. 


160 M. 


— 


393-33 M 


WestphaUa . . 


560 M. 


480 M. 


400 M. 


350 M. 


300 M. 


250 M. 


200 M. 


— 


408 M. 


Hesse-Nassau . . 


560 M. 


480 M. 


420 M. 


360 M. 


320 M. 


265 M. 


210 M. 


160 M. 


411.75 M. 


Rhine Province 


560 M. 


480 M. 


400 M. 


350 M. 


300 M. 


250 M. 




~ 


413 M. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 



207 





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2IO 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



In order that the salaries given above may be compared with 
those paid in other parts of Germany, some cities and states 
outside of Prussia are quoted : 



Brunswick (city) 
Bremerhaven 
Hamburg , , 
Leipzig , . . 
Niirnberg . . 
Strassburg 

Anhalt . . . 
Bavaria . . 
Bremen . . 
Lippe-Detmold 
Liibeck . . 
Meck.-Strelitz 
Saxony . . 
Saxe-Coburg , 
Saxe-Meinigen 
Reuss L. . . 
Schw.-Sonderhausen 
Waldeck . . . . 



1800-3900 M.^ 
2300-4600 M. 
2600-5100 M.^ 
1600-3800 M, 
2640-5220 M. 
1600-4220 M. 

1260-3150 M. 
1200-2800 M. 
2200-4800 M. 
1400-2400 M. 
2100-4400 M. 
1200-2300 M. 
1500-3000 M. 
1200-2900 M. 
1250-3000 M. 
1300-2800 M. 
1190-2430 M. 
1400-3020 M. 



Bremen . 
Chemnitz 
Karlsruhe 
Munich . 
Plauen . 
Stuttgart 



Baden 
Brunswick 
Alsace-Lorraine 
Hesse 
Schaumburg-Lippe 
Meck.-Schwerin . 
Oldenburg . . 
Sax.-Altenburg 
Saxe-Gotha . . 
Reuss a. L. . . . 
Schw. Rudolstadt 
Weimar .... 
Wiirttemberg . . 



2200-4800 M.^ 
1500-3800 M. 
2400-4200 M.^ 
2820-5520 M.^ 
1600-3500 M. 
1650-3250 M. 
f 
1600-3200 M. 
1410-3300 M. 
1200-2400 M. 
1200-3000 M. 
1400-3200 M. 
1 100-1800 M. 
1200-2730 M. 
1300-2600 M. 
1200-2900 M. 
1300-2800 M. 
1200-2400 M. 
1200-2750 M. 
1600-3200 M. 



The following salaries, which include all items, are the highest 
which are paid in Prussia. 4.20 M. are equivalent to $1.00. 

Posen 5030 M. 

Frankfurt-am-Main 5010 M. 

Charlottenburg . .. „ 5000 M. 

Dahlem 5000 M. 

Grunewald 5000 M. 

Schoneberg 5000 M. 

Steglitz 5000 M. 

Wilmersdorf 5000 M. 

Berlin 5000 M. 

Borkum 495© M. 

Friedenau 4850 M. 

Gr. Lichterfelde 4850 M. 

1 Including Rental Compensation. 



TEACHERS' SALARIES 2 1 1 

Tempelhof 4850 M. 

Zehlendorf 4850 M. 

Wiesbaden 4810 M. 

Treptow 4800 M. 

Diisseldorf 4800 M. 

Cologne 4800 M. 

Hermsdorf 4700 M. 

Lankwitz 4700 M. 

Lichtenberg 4700 M. 

Mariendorf 4700 M. 

Pankow 4700 M. 

Potsdam 4700 M. 

Neukolln 4700 M. 

Stralau 4700 M. 

Tegel 4700 M. 

Wannsee 4700 M. 

Weissensee 4700 M. 

Friedrichfelde 4650 M. 

Breslau 4620 M. 

Alderhof 4570 M. 

Marienfelde 4570 M. 

Nowawes 457o M. 

Britz 4550 M. 

Nieder-und Ober Schoneweide 4550 M. 

Niederschonhausen 4550 M. 

Reinickendorf 4550 M. 

Spandau 455o M. 

Helgoland 4550 M. 

Konigsberg in Pr 4550 M. 

Glowno 4540 M. 

Heinersdorf 4520 M. 

Kopenick 4520 M. 

Alt-Glienicke 4500 M. 

Griinau 4500 M. 

Lichtenrade 4500 M. 

Wiltenau 4500 M. 

Hanau 4500 M. 

Kassel 4500 M. 

Lissa 4500 M. 



212 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Altona 4500 M. 

Kiel 4500 M. 

Wilhelmshaven 4480 M. 

Stettin 4450 M. 

Everybody in Prussia whose income is more than 900 M. a 
Income Y^^^ must pay an income tax, so this must be de- 

'^^ ducted from the total amount of the salary if we want 

to get at the true income of the teacher. 



THE INCOME TAX SCHEDULE 



Income from More Than 


And Up to and Including 


Tax 


900 M. 


1050 M. 


6M. 


1050 M. 


1200 M. 


9M. 


1200 M. 


1350 M. 


12 M. 


1350 M. 


1500 M. 


16 M. 


1500 M. 


1650 M. 


21 M. 


1650 M. 


1800 M. 


26 M. 


1800 M. 


2100 M. 


31 M. 


2100 M. 


2400 M. 


36 M. 


2400 M. 


2700 M. 


44 M. 


2700 M. 


3000 M. 


52 M. 


3000 M. 


3300 M. 


60 M. 


3300 M. 


3600 M. 


70 M. 


3600 M. 


3900 M. 


80 M 


3900 M. 


4200 M. 


92 M. 


4200 M. 


4500 M. 


104 M. 


4500 M. 


5000 M. 


118 M. 


5000 M. 


5500 M. 


132 M. 


5500 M. 


6000 M. 


146 M. 


6000 M. 


6500 M. 


160 M. 


6500 M. 


7000 M. 


176 M. 


7000 M. 


7500 M. 


192 M. 


7500 M. 


8000 M. 


212 M. 


8000 M. 


8500 M. 


232 M. 


8500 M. 


9000 M. 


252 M. 


9000 M. 


9500 M. 


276 M. 


9500 M. 


10500 M. 


300 M. 



CHAPTER XI 

TEACHERS' PENSIONS 

Teachers receive pensions in all German states, although the 
systems of pensioning are by no means uniform. The differences 
concern the amount of the pension, the age at which it is 
granted, and the manner in which the pension fund is raised. 

In Prussia the matter is regulated by the pension law of July 6, 
1885, which was revised in 1907. Every teacher who has served 
ten years in the schools is entitled to a pension, if he or she be 
compelled to retire after that period, or in case the inability to 
serve has been brought about by the performance of duties in 
the school. At the age of sixty-five teachers may retire with a 
pension, even though they may still be able to perform the 
duties of their oiSice. If teachers retire at any time between 
the tenth year of service and the sixty-fifth year of life, a doctor's 
certificate is necessary to prove that they are no longer able to 
teach. 

The amount of the pension is regulated according to Article 2 
of the law of 1907.^ It reads as follows : 

The pension, if retirement occurs after the tenth completed year of serv- 
ice but yet before the eleventh full year, amounts to fj of the last income 
of the teacher, and increases thereafter by ^ of this income for every year 
of service following up to the thirtieth completed year of service, and in- 
creases after that each year by j^s of the income last paid. The pension 
cannot be more than M of the last salary. 

The income last received by the teacher is made the basis for 
computation of the pension. In this income are included cash 

* Zentralblatt, 1907, p. 570. 
213 



214 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

payments to the teacher (basal salary, local increment, or bonus, 
rental compensation, service increments), free lands, dwelling, 
or fuel (see p. 199). The years of service are counted from the 
time at which the teacher entered the public school service in 
Prussia. The first six hundred marks of the pension is paid out 
of the state treasury, while the remainder is paid by the local 
communities or others responsible for the support of the schools. 

In Alsace-Lorraine, the same pension system is in force as in 
Prussia. The formula expressing the calculation of the pension 
in Prussia and in Alsace-Lorraine is [|^ plus ^ (number of 
years between the loth and the 31st) plus t^ (number of 
years between the 30th and the 41st)] X (salary a tretirement) . 
The pension according to this formula would lie between one 
third and three fourths of the salary at retirement. In 1909 
there were 10,725 teachers on the pension list, and pensions 
amounted to 18,164,900 marks annually. 

In Prussia the pension is paid partly by the state and partly 

by the community, while the teachers contribute nothing at all. 

This is not true of all the states. In Oldenburg, 

Contribu- 1 . T^ . T 1 1 •! 

tory Pen- Reuss a. L., and m Reuss j. L., the teachers contribute, 
sion Funds ^^.^^ -^^ Mecklenburg-StrcHtz there is no pension 
fund. The other states have non-contributory funds. 

The maximum pension is reached in Prussia at sixty-five, like- 
wise in Wiirttemberg and Saxony, which in general means after 
MaWum forty-five years of service. This is also the case in 
Pension Schaumburg-Lippe. In Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 
Saxe-Meiningen, Anhalt, Brunswick, and Schwarzburg-Rudol- 
stadt, the highest pension is paid after fifty years of service, 
while in Baden, Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Altenburg, Schwarzburg- 
Sondershausen, and Hamburg, the maximum pension comes 
after forty years in the schools. Bremen pays its maximum 
after thirty years of service, and Oldenburg, Saxe- Weimar, and 
Lippe after thirty-seven years. 



TEACHERS' PENSIONS 215 

In Bavaria there is a pension fund in each administrative 
district, to which teachers, local communities, and the state 
contribute. The amount of the pension varies greatly 

. . Bavaria 

in the several districts. Pensions in Bavaria are rather 
high as a rule, and begin with the first year of service. For in- 
stance, in Munich the pension within the first ten years of serv- 
ice is 70 per cent of the salary ; 80 per cent for retirement within 
the eleventh and twentieth years of service ; 90 per cent between 
the twenty-first and thirtieth years; and 100 per cent if the pen- 
sioning takes place after the fortieth year in the schools. In 
Bavaria length of service is reckoned from the twenty-fifth year 
of age. The men teachers have to contribute 6 per cent and 
the women 2.5 per cent of the first year's salary upon register- 
ing for a pension and a like percentage on all subsequent in- 
creases. This amount is paid only once. Thereafter each year 
the men must pay 3 per cent and the women 1.2 per cent of the 
yearly salary, if they enter before the thirty-fiith year. If they 
register thereafter, they must pay 4 per cent and 2.2 per cent, 
men and women respectively. 

In Saxony the pension amounts to 30 per cent of the yearly 
salary, if retirement occurs between the eleventh and sixteenth 
years of service ; then it increases i per cent yearly up to the 
completed seventeenth year ; 2 per cent yearly from then to the 
completed twenty-fifth year ; to the completed thirty-second year 
3 per cent yearly; from there on 2 per cent each year to the 
thirty-fifth year ; and finally a yearly i per cent increase from 
then till the completed fortieth year of service, which in all 
amounts to 80 per cent of the highest salary after forty years in 
the school. 

The smaller states in Germany have pension laws very similar 
to those of Prussia. 

Pensions are also provided for the widows and orphans of 
teachers in almost all German states, but there are many dif- 



2i6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

ferences among the different states. In some states both the 
widows and orphans receive pensions, in others only the widows 
receive pensions. Another difference lies in the man- 
for Widows ^er in which the pension is reckoned. Sometimes it 
*°<^ is reckoned on the basis of the teacher's pension and 

Orphans 

sometimes on the basis of the salary last drawn. 
The pension in other states is often a definite amount regardless 
of the salary of the husband. 

The widows and orphans of Prussian elementary school teachers 
were first provided for on a large scale by the law of Decem.ber 
„,., , 22, i86q, which arranged for the establishment, or 

Widows' J y> b . , i i , 

Pensions rather the reorganization, of widows and orphans 
in Prussia f^nds. According to this law the pension of the 
widow of a school-teacher was one hundred and fifty marks 
annually. This pension was increased under the widows' pen- 
sion fund law of 1881 to two hundred and fifty marks a year. 
Again in 1889 the position of teachers and their families was 
somewhat improved, in that, according to law of June 19th of 
that year, the yearly premiums, as well as the initial fee for en- 
trance into the pension foundation, were abolished. That was 
the end of contributory pension funds in Prussia. At the 
present teachers and their widows and children are treated just 
as other state officials. The law which regulates widows' and 
orphans' pensions bears the date of December 4, 1899, with a 
sHght revision in 1907. The important articles of the law as 
revised in 1907 read as follows : 

Section 3. The widow's pension amounts to forty per cent of the 
pension which her husband drew, or to which he would have been en- 
titled, if he had been retired on the day of his death. The widow's 
pension shall amount at least to three hundred marks yearly, but shall 
not exceed thirty-five hundred marks, with the reservation of section 5 
kept in mind. 

Section 4. The orphan's pension amounts to one fifth of the widow's 
pension for each child for children whose mother is living and was entitled 



TEACHERS' PENSIONS 217 

to a pension at the time of the teacher's death, and to one third of the 
widow's pension for children whose mother was dead or was not entitled 
to a widow's pension at the time of the teacher's death. 

Section 5. Widow's and orphan's pensions singly or together must 
not amomit to more than the sum of the pension to which the deceased 
was entitled, or would have been entitled had he been retired on the day 
of his death. The amount of the widow's and orphan's pension may be 
curtailed by application of this Umitation. 

The right to draw pension expires when any such person mar- 
ries or dies, and the orphans cease to draw pensions at the close 
of their eighteenth year. The state pays the first four hundred 
and twenty marks of widows' pensions, the first eighty-four 
marks of half-orphans' pensions, and the first one hundred and 
forty marks of full orphans' pensions. The remainder of the 
pension is paid by the local community or parties responsible for 
the support of the schools. 

In Bavaria there are special funds in each district or commu- 
nity for the support of widows and orphans. These funds are 
more or less like beneficiary insurance societies to which 

. . Bavaria 

the teachers must pay certam sums or premmms. 
Orphan funds are generally of a private character except in large 
cities. These are supported by the teaching body. The Lehrer- 
waisenstift (teacher's orphan foundation) is one of the most im- 
portant of these societies. One may take Munich for an example 
of the working of the widow and orphan pension system in Bavaria.^ 
A. The yearly pension of the widow is reckoned on the basis 
of the pensionable salary last drawn by her husband while in 
active service and on the following scale : 

1. 10 per cent for the widows of substitutes or temporarily employed 
teachers. 

2. For the widow of an elementary school teacher, 

a. 12 per cent in case of his death after the second full year 
of service ; 

^ Lexis, vol. Ill, p. 184. 



2l8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

b. 15 per cent in case of his death after the second and be- 
fore the seventh year of service ; 

c. 19 per cent in case of his death after the seventh and 
before the seventeenth full year of service ; 

^ d. 25 per cent in case of his death after the seventeenth com- 

pleted year of service. 

B. The yearly pension of legitimate children is fixed for each 
child at 

(a) js of the mother's pension, if the children are half orphans ; and 
(&) T5 of the mother's pension, if they are full orphans. 

In the kingdom of Saxony the widow's pension amounts to 

one fifth of the salary last drawn by the husband, while each 

orphan receives one fifth of the amount of the mother's 

pension, if the mother is Hving and as long as she lives, 

and after her death three tenths of the widow's pension. 

The amount of the widow's pension in the Grand Duchy of 
Hesse is based on the number of years of the husband's service 
Grand ^^ ^^^ schools. From the first to the tenth full year 

Duchy of the widow receives yearly 450 marks, from the eleventh 
to the twentieth completed year inclusive 500 marks, 
from the twenty-first to the thirtieth year inclusive 550 marks, 
and 600 marks if he had served longer than thirty years. The 
orphan's pension amounts to one fifth of the widow's pension, if 
the mother is living; but if the mother is dead, the orphan's 
pension is two thirds of the mother's pension in case there is 
only one child, one half of the mother's pension in case there are 
two children; and in case there are three or more children, 
each one receives a third of the widow's pension ; but in no case 
may the total amount of pensions for the heirs of one teacher 
come to more than 1200 marks. 

The regulations in the other states in regard to this matter 
show many minor differences, but in general the instances given 
above are typical. 



TEACHERS' PENSIONS 219 

It is the policy of the German governments to pension state 
officials. This is particularly true in Prussia. As every one 
knows there is a very large officialdom in Germany, Principle of 
and all officials are salaried and pensioned, thereby Pensioning 
removing them from the influence and whims, and we may say, 
also the rightful desires of the people whom they serve. This 
large body of officials rides safely and supreme upon the shoulders 
of the governed. It must be said that they do their work faith- 
fully and well, even though at times they conduct themselves as 
if they were rulers and not servants of the people. Civility is 
not the most prominent characteristic of the German official, 
and this attitude arises from the knowledge of the security of 
his position. He knows his salary and pension are secure, so 
long as he fulfills the word of the regulations which are laid 
down for him. These statements are not true of the German 
elementary teacher or of his administrator. Although the 
teacher is a state official, he cannot be put in the category of the 
"typical German official," and it is no doubt due to his training 
that he is so different from other classes of officials in his atti- 
tude towards the people he serves and toward strangers. 

A still more striking effect of the system of pensioning for 
teachers, widows, and orphans is the sense of security brought 
by the knowledge that the rain> day is provided for. This 
knowledge keeps teachers in the profession and enables them to 
devote themselves entirely to their work without being required 
to worry about the time when disability forces them from the 
schools. 



CHAPTER XII 

ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN AND COURSES 

OF STUDY 

A. Although the Volksschule is not organized in the same 
way in all the states of the empire, an exact statement of the 
organization in Prussia will suffice to give a reasonably clear 
conception of elementary school organization in Germany. 

The Volksschulen of Prussia are organized according to the 
general Regulations of October 15, 1872. The normal forms of 
the elementary school under these regulations are the several- 
class school, the school with two teachers, and the school with 
one teacher, which is either a one-class school or a half-day 
school. The seven- and eight-grade schools of the present time 
are not specifically recognized by these regulations at all. 

The one-class school corresponds to our ungraded country 
school, in that all children of compulsory school age are put into 
one class and are taught by a single teacher. The number of 
pupils in such a class must not exceed eighty. The school is 
divided into three sections or groups,^ as are all Volksschulen. 
As a rule the children of the lower section receive twenty hours 
of instruction a week, while those of the middle and upper sec- 
tions receive thirty hours, including physical training for boys 
and handwork for girls. 

^ The lower section usually comprises those children who have been in school 
from one to three years; the middle section those children in school four or five 
years; and the upper section those who have been in school six, seven, or eight 
years. 

220 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 221 

A one-class school may be organized into a half-day school 
with the approval of the administrative county government, 
whenever the number of children exceeds eighty, or Half-Day 
where the schoolroom is overcrowded, or where condi- School 
tions do not allow a second teacher to be employed. Both divi- 
sions of the half -day school together receive thirty- two hours of 
instruction each week. 

If two teachers are employed in one school, the instruction is 
given in two separate classes. When the number of children in 
such a school exceeds one hundred and twenty, a „ ^ , 

-^ ' School 

three-class school is organized, although the number with Two 
of teachers may not necessarily be increased. In a 
three-class school with two teachers, there are twelve hours of 
instruction each week for the first class, twenty-four hours for 
the second, and twenty-eight for the third. 

In schools with three or more classes ^ (not used in the sense of 
grade), except schools with three classes and two teachers, the 
children of the lower section receive twenty- two ^ 

•^ Several- 

hours of instruction a week, those of the middle section Grade 

twenty-eight, and those of the upper section thirty- ^ °° 

two. A school with more than six grades was scarcely thought 

of in 1872, but since that time the seven- and eight-grade systems 

have become very common in the larger cities. 

Concerning the number of schools of the various types, the 

following tables ^ on page 223 show the forms of elementary school 

organization most in favor. A very small number of Types of 

children, comparatively speaking, are educated in Schools 

school systems of eight grades, which fact seems rather strange, 

inasmuch as the period of compulsory education covers eight 

years. The number of eight-grade school systems, however, is 

increasing. Naturally, a great waste of time and unnecessary 

^ A class frequently includes more than one year's work. 
' Statistisches Jahrbuchfiir den preussischen Stoat y 1913. 



222 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



repetition are entailed in the upper classes of the six- and seven- 
grade systems by the fact that the pupils must either repeat the 
work of the last year in their school during the eighth year, or, 
as is generally done, follow a two years' course in the seventh 
grade. In one way or another, the grades are so combined or 
organized with reference to the subject matter that the eight 
years are filled out. As will be shown in another place, by no 
means all of the pupils cover eight years' work, although they 
remain in school during the whole compulsory period. A six- 
or seven-grade system is very convenient for retarded children, 
in that such children, if retarded only one or two years, are en- 
abled thus to get a rounded-out training. 

The elementary schools of Prussia are organized on 
School Or- several bases ; namely, the number of grades into 
gamza on ^ which the work is divided, and the sex, reUgion, and 
number of the pupils. 

There were in Prussia in the years 1901, 191 1, the following 
numbers of school communities : 



SCHOOL COMMUNITIES IN PRUSSIA 



School communities with one school . . . 
School communities with two schools . . . 
School communities with three or more schools 
Total school communities 



1901 


1906 


25,395 
1,970 

663 


25,481 
2,078 

726 


28,028 


28,285 



I9II 



26,339 
1,927 

70s 



28,971 



The decrease in the number of communities with two schools is 
due to the fact that recently attempts have been made to unite 
one-class schools where they hitherto existed side by side. 

The figures which follow, as stated before, show the different 
forms of school organization which existed in Prussia with refer- 
ence to the number of successive classes (grades). 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 



223 



TYPES OF SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA 



Types of Schools 


1886 


1891 


1896 


1901 


1906 


1911 


One-class schools . . . 
Half-day schools .... 
Two-class schools with two 

teachers 

Three-class schools . . 
Other three-class schools 

and several-class schools 


17,743 
5,481 

3,032 
2,610 

5,150 


16,545 
5,925 

3,210 
3,136 

5,926 


15,578 
6,856 

3,215 

3,547 

6,942 


13,530 
7,873 

3,573 
3,830 

7,950 


13,507 
7,369 

3,941 
3,958 

8,986 


13,543 
6,655 

4,104 
4,192 

10,190 


Total schools . . , 


34,016 


34,742 


36,138 


36,756 


37,761 


38,684 



TYPES OF URBAN SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA 



Types of Schools 

One-class schools 

Half-day schools 

Two-class schools with two teachers 
Three-class schools with two teachers 
Other three-class schools and several- 
class schools 

Total schools 



1886 


I89I 


1896 


1901 


1906 


556 


461 


468 


408 


417 


91 


78 


75 


79 


64 


210 


234 


199 


214 


227 


151 


III 


141 


lOI 


114 


2,700 


2,987 


3,359 
4,242 


3,612 
4,414 


4,010 


3,718 


3,871 


4,832 



I9II 

394 

59 

223 

95 

4,354 



5,125 



TYPES OF RURAL SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA 



Types of Schools 


1886 


1 891 


1896 


1 901 


1906 


1911 


One-class schools . . . 


17,177 


16,084 


15,110 


13,122 


13,090 


13,149 


Half-day schools .... 


5,390 


5,847 


6,781 


7,794 


7,305 


6,596 


Two-class schools with two 














teachers 


2,822 


2,976 


3,016 


3,359 


3,714 


3,881 


Three-class schools with 














two teachers .... 


2,459 


3,025 


3,406 


3,729 


3,844 


4,097 


Other three-class schools 














with other several-class 














schools 


2,450 


2,939 


3,583 


4,338 


4,976 


5,836 


Total schools . . . 


30,298 


30,271 


31,896 


32,342 


32,929 


33,559 



224 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



The two preceding tables give the distribution according to 
classes for urban and rural schools in Prussia for quinquennial 
periods from 1886 to 1911. 

The next table gives the number of schools organized 
variously as to the number of classes, and also the actual 
total number of separate classes. In these schools the course 
of study is divided up according to the number of grades 
in the school. 

DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO GRADES; 

AND ACTUAL NUMBER OF CLASSES 

IN THESE SCHOOLS 



Types or Schools 


1886 


1891 


1896 


1 901 


1906 


1911 


Schools of one class . . 


17,744 


16,600 


15,892 


13,615 


13,536 


13,571 


with classes ... 


17,745 


16,65s 


16,206 


13,700 


13,565 


13,596 


Schools of two classes . . 


8,84s 


9,474 


10,181 


11,849 


11, 680 


11,134 


with classes . . . 


18,141 


19,425 


20,868 


24,313 


23,826 


22,706 


Schools of three classes 


3,949 


4,447 


4,930 


5,258 


5,562 


5,904 


with classes . . . 


12,561 


14,054 


15,527 


16,593 


17,400 


18,266 


Schools of four classes 


1,352 


1,553 


1,709 


1,834 


1,822 


1,929 


with classes . . . 


6,408 


7,247 


7,755 


8,274 


8,029 


8,280 


Schools of five classes 


649 


692 


863 


968 


1,061 


1,176 


with classes . . . 


4,102 


4,253 


5,116 


5,623 


6,091 


6,744 


Schools of six classes . . 


1,187 


1,551 


1,830 


1,613 


1,568 


1,484 


with classes . . . 


12,825 


16,181 


18,699 


15,317 


13,997 


12,638 


Schools of seven classes . 


290 


425 


12,2, 


1,336 


1,988 


2,809 


with classes . . . 


3,31s 


4,931 


7,830 


15,940 


24,292 


35,560 


Schools of eight classes 








283 


544 


677 


with classes . . . 








4,322 


8,702 


10,431 


Advanced . . . . 












504 



The type of school most favored in the cities is the seven- 
grade or seven-class school, while the one generally found in the 
country has three classes or less. The following tables illustrate 
this point clearly : 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 225 

TYPES OF SCHOOLS AND NUMBER OF CLASSES IN CITIES 



Types of Schools 


1886 


1891 


1896 


1901 


1906 


1911 


Schools of one class . . 


567 


464 


479 


410 


420 


396 


with classes . . . 


568 


467 


491 


412 


423 


398 


Schools of two classes 


342 


329 


291 


305 


309 


292 


with classes . . . 


740 


685 


622 


628 


644 


595 


Schools of three classes 


548 


467 


493 


404 


378 


334 


with classes . . . 


1,954 


1,653 


1,712 


1,435 


1,282 


1,082 


Schools of four classes 


566 


538 


519 


432 


370 


312 


with classes . . . 


2,926 


2,775 


2,535 


2,187 


1,799 


1,428 


Schools of five classes . . 


405 


386 


380 


362 


314 


275 


with classes . . . 


2,678 


2,542 


2,413 


2,249 


1,940 


1,700 


Schools of six classes . . 


1,028 


1,297 


1,440 


1,118 


1,002 


827 


with classes . . . 


11,420 


13,923 


15,383 


11,174 


9,577 


7,652 


Schools of seven classes . 


262 


390 


640 


1,118 


1,525 


2,050 


with classes . . . 


3,062 


4,604 


6,998 


13,572 


18,926 


26,737 


Schools of eight classes 








265 


514 


639 


with classes . . . 








4,076 


8,250 


9,83s 


Advanced classes 












444 



TYPES OF SCHOOL AND NUMBER OF CLASSES IN THE COUNTRY 



Types of Schools 














One-class schools . . . 


17,177 


16,136 


15,413 


13,205 


13,116 


13,17s 


with classes 






17,177 


16,188 


15,716 


13,288 


13,142 


13,198 


Two-class schools . 






8,503 


9,145 


9,890 


11,544 


11,371 


10,842 


with classes 






17,401 


18,740 


20,246 


23,685 


23,182 


22,111 


Three-class schools . 






3,401 


3,980 


4,437 


4,854 


5,184 


5,570 


with classes 






10,607 


12,401 


13,815 


15,158 


16,118 


17,184 


Four-class schools 






786 


1,015 


1,190 


1,402 


1,452 


1,617 


with classes 






3,482 


4,472 


5,220 


6,087 


6,230 


6,852 


Five-class schools 






244 


206 


483 


606 


747 


901 


with classes 






1,424 


1,711 


2,703 


3,374 


4,151 


5,044 


Six-class schools 






159 


254 


390 


495 


566 


657 


with classes 






1,405 


2,258 


3,316 


4,142 


4,420 


4,986 


Seven-class schools 






28 


35 


93 


218 


463 


759 


with classes 






253 


325 


832 


2,368 


5,366 


8,823 


Eight-class schools 












18 


30 


38 


with classes 












246 


452 


596 


Advanced classes 












60 



226 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Schools in Prussia with one, two, three, etc., teachers are as 
follows : There is not, especially in the country, a teacher for 
every class, very frequently there being one less teacher in a 
school than there are classes ; for example, a three-class school 
with two teachers. 

SCHOOLS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF TEACHERS 



Types of Schools (a) City; 
(b) Country. 


(a) 1901 


1906 


1911 


(b)i9oi 


1906 


1911 


Schools with one teacher . . 


487 


481 


453 


20,917 


20,39S 


19,745 


Schools with two teachers . . 


317 


342 


319 


7,380 


7,862 


8,224 


Schools with three teachers . 


287 


256 


252 


1,590 


2,167 


2,474 


Schools with four teachers , . 


325 


320 


270 


880 


928 


1,054 


Schools with five teachers . . 


270 


244 


218 


366 


457 


532 ' 


Schools with six teachers . . 


391 


349 


304 


275 


307 


379 


Schools with seven teachers . 


481 


505 


506 


130 


190 


273 


Schools with eight or more 














teachers 


1,850 


2,335 


2,803 


444 


623 


878 



CHILDREN IN THE VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHOOLS IN 1911 



Types of Schools 


City 


Country 


Total 


Per Cent 


Children in one-class schools . . 
Children in half-day schools . . 
Children in two-class schools with 

two teachers 

Children in three-class schools with 

two teachers 

Children in other three-class 

schools and several-class schools 


13,706 
4,316 

20,519 
11,681 

2,496,531 


647,308 
522,850 

417,879 

566,727 

1,870,623 


661,014 
527,166 

438,398 
578,408 

4,367,154 


10.00 
8.02 

6.67 

8.80 

66.44 


Total number of children 


2,546,753 


4,025,387 


6,572,140 


100.00 



The division of children among schools varjdng in number of 
classes is better shown by the following table, taken from the 
Statistisches Jahrbuch fiir den preussischen Staat for 191 2. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 227 

DISTRIBUTION OF CHILDREN IN VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHOOLS 



Types of Schools 


City 


Country 


TOT.\L 


Per Cent 


Children in one-class schools . . 


13,942 


650,536 


664,478 


lO.II 


Children in two-class schools . . 


26,577 


1,003,470 


1,030,047 


15-82 


Children in three-class schools . . 


50,297 


860,786 


911,083 


13.86 


Children in four-class schools . . 


74,769 


383,626 


458,395 


6.97 


Children in five-class schools . . 


80,967 


290,473 


371,440 


5.65 


Children in six-class schools . . 


402,250 


294,174 


696,424 


10.59 


Children in seven-class schools 


1,422,634 


506,467 


1,929,101 


29-35 


Children in eight-class schools . 


464,029 


34,505 


498,534 


7-58 


Children in advanced classes . . 


11,288 


1,350 


12,638 
6,572,140 


0.19 


Total number of children 


2,546,753 


4,025,387 


100.00 



From the table immediately preceding it is seen that only a 
little more than 7 J per cent of the children in the Prussian 
Volksschulen are in schools of eight classes ; about twenty-six 
(26) per cent attend one- or two-class schools, a little more than 
twenty (20) per cent attend schools of three or four classes, 
while over sixteen (16) per cent attend schools of five or six 
classes, and about thirty (30) per cent attend the seven-class 
school. The last-mentioned type of school seems to stand in 
greatest favor at the present time. The period of compulsory 
attendance is eight years, though many of the children do not 
attend longer than seven and a half years, and making allow- 
ances for non-promotions, seven one-year courses are often all 
the pupils ever complete. In such schools an advanced class is 
formed for those pupils who complete the work of seven years 
on schedule time, and who must remain in school. The ideal, 
however, is to have eight-class schools, one year being given 
to each class and the entire subject-matter being divided into 
eight one-year courses. The larger cities are gradually approach- 
ing this goal, but are held back chiefly by lack of money. The 
six-class systems are rapidly losing ground, giving way to sys- 
tems of seven or eight classes. 



228 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The number of classes which a school has is determined by 
the number of pupils and by the number of teachers available. 
Half-day It is merely a question of how many children at the 
Schools most can be taught together by a single teacher. In 
Prussia the law requires that when the number of children ex- 
ceeds eighty, a second teacher shall be appointed. A very 
important matter to be decided is the form of school organiza- 
tion best for those schools in which there is only one teacher, 
since about one fifth of all the children in Prussian elementary 
schools are in institutions of this kind. In Baden and in Saxony 
schools with one teacher are always divided into two classes, 
but in Prussia it is different. According to the General Regu- 
lations of October 15, 1872, twenty hours of instruction must be 
given in the lower section of the one-class school, and thirty hours 
in each of the other two sections. Under certain conditions, 
however, a half -day school may be organized. A half -day school 
is one in which the lower section is entirely divided from the 
two upper sections, receiving twelve hours' instruction per week, 
and the upper a.nd middle sections combined in all recitations, 
receiving a total of twenty hours of instruction. This t}^e of 
school amounts to a two-class school, for, in addition to being 
wholly separated in all subjects of instruction, each group 
attends school at different hours. It is the general opinion of 
German school men that the half-day school is not so good a 
form of organization as the undivided one-class school. 

Reference to the chapter on school statistics (p. 91) will fur- 
nish an insight into the length of school attendance, the cost, and 
results of instruction under the different systems. E. Schwartz 
in an article in Schulstatistische Blatter, July 18, 191 2, has adduced 
rather conclusive proof showing the superiority of the eight- 
class system over systems having fewer classes.^ He measures 

^Schwartz, Schulstatistische Blatter, July 1913. See also E. Schwartz: Or- 
ganization iind Unterrichtserfolge der sladtischen Volksschulen in Deutschland, eine 
kritische Darstellung auf Grund der Narmalschtde als Massenheit. Berlin, 1907. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 229 

the success of instruction by the percentage of children dis- 
missed from school attendance out of the highest class. The 
eight-class systems carry by far the largest percentage of their 
children through the entire course. The average number of 
pupils per class is less in the eight-class systems than in the 
seven-class, but about the same as in the six-class systems. It 
is also frequently maintained that an eight-class system costs 
more than the others, while the tables in the authority quoted 
prove rather conclusively that the cost per child in the former 
is less generally than in the latter. 

It is a principle of elementary school organization in Germany 
that Protestant children shall attend Protestant schools and 
that Catholic children shall attend Catholic schools. ^ , 

Confes- 

Furthermore, the teachers are divided along the same sionai 
lines. Since the time of the Reformation, the principle 
has existed that the inhabitants of a principahty follow the reli- 
gion of their ruler. Consequently, the population in most locaH- 
ties of Germany, at the time Volksschulen were first estabHshed, 
was generally unmixed. It was only natural that the school 
have the same faith as the inhabitants, and that the teacher 
also belong to the same confession. So, even where the church 
has nothing to do with the estabHshment of the school, the latter 
has always been organized on a confessional basis. In some 
parts of Germany, for instance, in Nassau, the population was so 
mixed religiously that a non-confessional school {SimuUanschulen) 
was organized, which, according to the law, is a school in which 
teachers of different confessions are employed. By SimuUan- 
schulen is meant, in the ordinary sense of the word, a school 
where children of different religions are taught together. The 
Prussian school, however, has developed on the confessional 
basis. According to Article 24 of the Prussian Constitution, 
"In the establishment of public Volksschulen the confessional 
conditions are to be taken into consideration as far as possible." 



230 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The school law of 1906 regulated the confessional affairs of the 
elementary school anew, recognizing both the confessional and 
the non-confessional school. Special religious instruction is 
provided for the religious denomination in the minority, and 
under certain conditions schools may even be erected for them. 
In all large cities there are Catholic and Protestant schools. 
The normal training schools are also divided on the same basis. 
In the cities it is reasonably easy to establish denominational 
schools, but in the country more and more difficulty will arise 
as the population becomes more and more mixed in religious 
matters. 

The next principle of school organization is that of separate 
schools for boys and girls. About two thirds of the children in 
„ , ^ Prussia are found in mixed classes. In school districts 

Boys and 

Girls' where there are enough children to form two full 

^ °^^ schools with the complete number of classes, the sexes 
are segregated for pedagogical, ethical, and economical reasons. 
The separation of the sexes has a direct effect upon the organi- 
zation and efficiency of the Volksschulen, particularly in small 
communities. If the number of children in such a community 
is divided into halves and put into separate schools, the schools 
frequently cannot have as many classes as if the boys and girls 
were taught together. If the principle is correct that the effi- 
ciency of a school increases with the number of classes, a division 
of the sexes would lead often to a lessening of the school's effi- 
ciency. Moreover, separate classes for boys and girls in small 
communities often increase the cost of education, because the 
number of classes necessary will be greater in a divided system, 
and the smaller the community, the greater the increase in abso- 
lute cost per pupil. The CathoHc communities generally insist 
on separate classes, just as the Catholics also demand that the 
larger girls be taught by women teachers. The General Regu- 
lations of October 15, 1872, recommended that in schools with 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 



231 



three or more classes a division of the sexes is desirable. This 
recommendation has found Kttle acceptance, however, for the 
Prussian Volksschule has developed from an economic point of 
view in this respect rather than from any so-called ethical or 
pedagogical principles. The percentage of sex division has in- 
creased latterly, not so much from a belief that there is any 
special advantage in divided schools, but rather on account of 
the growth of large cities in recent years, where the organization 
of separate schools entails no extra expense. 

In addition to the principles of organization discussed above, 
the organization of the school or class according to the number 
of pupils is also significant. In cities, as soon as a class orgt 



mniza- 



becomes too large, a parallel class is formed, and gradu- ^°°.o^ 
ally the whole school is really a double institution. Numbers of 
When all the classes are parallel, if finances allow, a ^"^^^ 
new school is formed under another principal. This, however, 
is not the rule, the double school remaining under the same 
principal until further growth takes place which compels a divi- 
sion. The number allowed in a class varies greatly in Germany. 



Number of Villages and Schools 


Range in Number of Pupils 


21 


11-30 


32 


31-40 


48 


41-50 


81 


51-60 


84 


61-70 


S3 


71-80 


S3 


81-90 


16 


90-100 


I 


III 



In Prussia seventy are allowed in a several-class school and 
eighty in a one-class school. The average is by no means so 
high, being only forty-nine in the cities and fifty-six in the whole 
kingdom. In Baden and Hesse, the number of pupils permissible 



232 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

is seventy, in Wiirttemberg sixty. In country schools other 
conditions prevail sometimes. For example, in the Duchy of 
Brunswick the number of children per teacher for rural schools 
is as shown in the accompanying table. This condition is not 
uncommon in country districts, and there are cases in which one 
teacher has even more than in children to teach.^ 

The number of classes per school, or rather the number of 
classes under the supervision of one principal, varies greatly in 
„ , , Prussia, and still more in the other German states. 

Number of ^ ^ ^ 

Classes per From a questionnaire sent out in 1912-13,^ it was found 
that in 4463 schools in Prussia, 1961 of them had from 
6 to 10 classes; 1537, from 11 to 15 classes; 697, from 16 to 20 
classes; 194, from 21 to 25 classes; 62, from 26 to 30 classes; 
and 12 had between 30 and 35 classes. In Prussia there is an 
evident attempt to hold the number of classes under one prin- 
cipal to fifteen or less. In Munich there are schools with 34 
classes. In Saxony the principal {Schuldirektor) often has 
several schools under his supervision, although this is true only 
of smaller cities. The highest number of classes under one 
principal is 38 in Zwickau, 40 in Mittweida, 41 in Lobau, 44 in 
Chemnitz, and 69 in Falkenstein. 

\ In large city systems there is usually one teacher for every 
class in schools having six or more classes. One-class schools 
Number of ^^^^ ^^^ teacher. Half-day schools, which really 
Teachers amount to two-class schools, have also one teacher, 
per c 00 r^Y^^ number of teachers, however, when the children 
become too numerous for one teacher, does not always corre- 
spond to the number of classes. Prussia has no law covering 
this point. Sometimes on the appointment of a second teacher, 
the school is organized as a two-class and sometimes as a three- 

^ Das Schulwesen in Herzogtum Braunschweig, 1912-1913, Schulstatistische Blatter y 
July 24, 1913, p. 73. 

2 Schulstatistische Blatter, March, 1913, p. 27. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 233 

class school. The three-class school with two teachers has 
advantages over a two-class school with two teachers, in that 
the former has fewer children per class, and each class has fewer 
hours per week. Even in four- and five-class schools it is very 
common that the number of teachers is one less than the number 
of classes, as a reference to the statistics in this chapter will 
readily show. Such organization is at least economical. 

As has been shown, the eight-class systems are not very numer- 
ous in Germany, because the children of the Volksschulen do not 
have any desire to attend school after reaching the age 
of fourteen. Whether they have completed the work Desirable 
or not, they quit and begin some trade ; and, if com- Number of 
pelled, go on with their education in the continuation 
schools (Fortbildungsschule). For one reason or another, the 
larger part of the children do not reach the eighth class or do not 
complete it, and the authorities, therefore, do not think it neces- 
sary to have an eight-class system, but organize a seven-class 
system with an extra class built on top for those who wish to 
continue or finish the work of the eighth year. In 19 10, of every 
one thousand children in Prussia who had completed the period 
of compulsory attendance, the following number had completed 
the various years : 

448 had reached (not necessarily completed) the eighth school year. 
261 had reached (not necessarily completed) the seventh school year. 
181 had reached (not necessarily completed) the sixth school year. 
88 had reached (not necessarily completed) the fifth school year. 
22 had reached (not necessarily completed) the fourth school year. 

From this it may be seen that less than 45 per cent of the children 
completed the work of the eighth school year on schedule time. 
Retardation plays a large role in Prussia as well as in America. 
The government allows the large cities of Prussia the choice 
between a seven- and eight-class system. A six-class system is 



234 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

now looked upon as being undeveloped, although the General 
Regulations of 1872 consider the six-class school a full school, 
while they do not mention the seven- and eight-class schools, 
which have developed since that time. 

Berlin, up to 19 14, had an eight-class system. From Easter, 
1 914, the classes were numbered from VII to I, and I a. {Ober- 
klasse) . This was done because some of the cities in Greater 
Berlin could not organize eight-class schools. Berlin proper has 
an eight-class system, but the classes are numbered as given 
above because there are so many children who leave school just 
at the end of the seventh year or what is now called the first 
class. If a boy or girl has a school certificate from the first 
class, he or she will get a much better position than if the 
leaving certificate is for the second class, as would be the 
case if the classes were numbered from VIII to I. In addi- 
tion the course of study has been changed so that there will be 
a natural, well-rounded off stopping place at the end of the 
seventh year, and, indeed, a special course for those who can 
only complete the work of the sixth year within the compulsory 
period. Thus, at present, there is uncertainty as to which sys- 
tem is preferable. 

The one-class school consists of three sections, the lower 
section (1-3 school years), the middle section (4-5 school years), 
and the upper section (6-8 school years). Enroll- 
tion of the nient of children of compulsory school age takes place 
s^^ ?*^^ only once a year. This enrollment occurs, in schools 
which have a second session, on the first school days 
in May ; in all others in the last week days of the Easter vaca- 
tion. All children are of school age who have completed the 
sixth year, or who will have completed it within three months 
after their enrollment. 

The summer semester begins on the first of May, the winter 
semester after the autumn hoHdays in October, and not, as 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 



235 



formerly, on the first of November. The organization of the 
summer term is planned according to local conditions. The 
upper and middle sections have, on the average, eighteen 
hours per week, every day from 6.45 a.m. to 9.45 a.m., and 
the lower section thirteen and a half hours, from 10 a.m. to 
12.15 ^^^^ 

In the winter the three sections in the undivided schools are 
all taught at the same time. The half-day school (the divided 
one-class school) works in the summer according to the program 
of the summer school.^ In the winter the upper and middle sec- 
tions are taught as one class, while the lower section has its 
lessons alone. The upper and middle sections receive twenty 
hours' instruction, and the lower section twelve. The divided 
one-class school may be estabhshed only with the consent of the 
administrative county board. 

SCHEDULE OF HOURS — ONE-CLASS SCHOOL 
TABLE A. SUMMER SCHOOL 



Subjects 



Religion . . 
German 1 
Writing ] 
Arithmetic 
Geometry . . 
History . . 
Geography 
Nature . . . 
Singing 1 
Gymnastics J 
Drawing . . 
Handwork 

Total Hours 



Lower Section 



li 



13I 



Middle and Upper 
Section 



3 

Sh 

3 

I 
I 
I 

i\ 

I 
(i) 



18(19) 



1 Table A. 



236 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



TABLE B. WINTER SCHOOL 
UNDivroED One-Class School 



Subjects 



Religion 

German 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Geometry 

History 

Geography 

Nature 

Singing 

Drawing 

Handwork 

Physical Training . . . 
Total Hours per Week 



Lower 
Section 



4 
II 



20 



MrooLE 
Section 



5 
7 
2 

4 

2 
2 

2 
2 

I 

(2) 
3 



30 (32) 



Upper 
Section 



S 
6 

I 

4 

I 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

(2) 
3 



30 (32) 



WINTER SCHOOL 
TABLE C. DIVIDED ONE-CLASS SCHOOL 



Subjects 




Lower Class 


Upper Class 
(Upper and middle section) 


Religion 

German 1 
Writing j 

Arithmetic 

Geometry 

History 

Geography 

Nature 

Singing (united with German 

and ReUgion) 

Physical Training 

Drawing 

Handwork 


f 


3 

7 
2 


1 


3 
5^ 

4 

I 
I 
I 
I 

I 

I 

(2) 


Total 




12 




20 (22) 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 



237 



TABLE D. — ONE-CLASS SCHOOL (THREE SECTIONS, TWO OF 
WHICH ARE ALWAYS UNITED) 



Subjects 


Lower 


Meddle 


Upper 


Religion 

German 

Writing 

Geometry 

Arithmetic 

History 

Geography 

Nature 

Singing 

Drawing 

Physical Training .... 
Handwork 


1 

! 


3 
7 

3 

I 


3 
6 

2 

4 
2Xi i^ 
2X1 i^ 

2Xf I^ 

f I 

(2) 


3 
6 

I 
I 
4 
li 

I 
I 

(2) 


Total 




14 


23 (25) 


23 (25) 



For an explanation as to the working of the above table, see 
the corresponding weekly program on page 243. If this sort 
of organization is not possible, the following schedule for a half- 
day school may be adopted. This arrangement of the hours is 
typical for half -day schools. 

HALF-DAY SCHOOL 



Subjects 



Religion 

German 

Arithmetic and Geometry 

Drawing 

Science 

Singing ...... 

Physical Training . . . 
Handwork 

Total Hours .... 



Lower Section 



Middle Section 



6 
9 

4 

I 
6 
2 
2 
(2) 



30 (32) 



Upper Section 



5 
I 
6 
2 
2 
(2) 



30 (32) 



238 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Since the half-day school ordinarily must be organized on 
account of lack of room, and since all three sections cannot be 
taught at one time, it is always possible to unite two sections for 
instruction. When fourteen hours a week are arranged for the 
lower section, the hours can be scheduled as in Table D. 

THREE-CLASS SCHOOL WITH TWO TEACHERS 





(A) Summer School 


(B) Winter School 




III 


II 


I 


III 


II 


I 


Religion . . 


f 2 


3 


f 


3 


2 


4 


4 


German . . 


7 


4h 




4i 


7 


(S)5^ 


(6)6^ 


Writing . . 




I 




I 




2 


I 


Arithmetic . 


1 3 


3 


1 


3 


2 


4 


4 


Geometry 














I 


History . . 




I 




I 




2 


2 


Geography , 




I 




I 




I 


2 


Nature . . 




I 




I 




I 


2 


Singing . . 


1 i| 


z 




I 


I 


I 


2 


Physical 




! i^ 


f 


ih 




(2)1^ 


(2)1^ 


Training . 
















Drawing . . 




I 




I 




I 


I 


Handwork . 




(i) 




(i) 




(2) 


(2) 




i3l 


i8 (19) 


18 (19) 


12 


23 (25) 


27 (29) 



III. Class embraces 1-3 school years, lower section. 
11. Class embraces 4-5 school years, middle section. 
I. Class embraces 6-8 school years, upper section. 

Summer school is from the first of May to autumn vacation 
in October. 

In the summer the third class is divided in German and arith- 
metic. The first teacher takes the first section in these subjects. 
In the other subjects both sections are taught by the second 
teacher. 

The following division of hours between the teachers was 
adopted in one school. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 



239 



PROGRAM OF A THREE-CLASS SCHOOL WITH TWO TEACHERS 
I. Teacher II. Teacher 





Winter 


SUMlfER 




SuUlfEK 


Winter 


Religion I ... 


3 


4 


Religion II . 


3 


4 


German I . 






4i 


(>h 


German II 


4^ 


5i 


Writing I . 






I 


I 


Writing n . 


I 


2 


Arithmetic I 






3 


4 


Arithmetic II 


3 


4 


Geometry I 








I 


Historj' II . 


I 


2 


History I . 






I 


2 


Geography II 


I 


I 


Nature I . 






I 


2 


Nature II . . 


I 


X 


Geography I 






I 


2 


Drawing or 1 
Singing II / ' 




I 


Singing I . 






I 


2 




Physical Training I. 


f li 


§ i^ 


Physical Trainin 


g II i = li 


3 li 


German III a . . 


7 




Religion III . 


2 




Arithmetic III a 


3 




Arithmetic III b 


3 


III a & b 2 


Singing or \ 






German III b 


7 


III a & b 7 


Drawing II J ' 






Singing III . 


. . § = li 


I 








Drawing I 


I 


I 


Total Hours . . . 


28 


27 




31 


35 



In the division of hours between the teachers in the winter, 
there are 35 hours for the second teacher and 27 hours for the 
first teacher, since the division in the lower section no longer 
continues. The necessary exchange is to be made, if possible, in 
technical subjects. The second teacher may give up writing in 
II for two hours and singing in III for one hour. Likewise draw- 
ing in I, drawing or singing in II, and singing in III may be 
used for equaHzation of hours, though here care must be taken, 
that drawing be given according to the new method and only 
by teachers who have been especially trained. Also in con- 
sideration of the unity of instruction it is the general practice 
to have the religion, German, and history of one class taught 
by the same teacher.^ 

A two-class school with two teachers is permitted only by the 
consent of the government, when a three-class school for local 

* Regulation of April 11, 1904; Amtlkhes Schulhlatt, 1904, p. 42; April 15, 
1909. Amt. Schulhlatty 1909, pp. 33~34; iQiO) PP- 89-90. 



240 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



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ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHUIEN 



241 



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242 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 











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ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 



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246 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

reasons is not possible. In these courses of study it will be 
noticed that the girls always have two hours more per week 
than the boys. This is considered extra work.^ 

The organization of the interna of the school still rests upon the 
basis of the General Regulations of 1872, for few great changes 
in the relative value or importance of subjects have been made 
since that time. The chief modification was the addition of a 
third hour in physical training (1910), which was taken from the 
total number of hours in German, the subject probably best 
able to bear the loss. Gradually the total number of hours 
devoted to religious instruction had been brought back to the 
normal, whereas it had often occurred that the instruction in 
school and the confirmation instruction amounted to six hours 
weekly. The effort of the Volksschule to meet the demands of 
the times led to an overcrowding of the curricula ; that is, more 
material was put into the different subjects than the children 
could assimilate, although the number of subjects remained the 
same. There was an overcrowding in reality, perhaps, from 
the German point of view. The government has continually 
struggled against the overfeeding of the children at the expense 
of their ability to digest. It was realized that there was too 
much memory work being done, and it was thought that by 
decreasing the subject matter both teachers and children would 
have more opportunity for real thought and independent work. 
It is hkely, however, that the overcrowding of the curricula is 
not the cause of the mechanization of the schools. It is rather 
the method of instruction generally employed in the Lernschule. 
The ministerial order of January 31, 1908, emphasizes the 
latter point, for in this order, the minister advises that the 
method of questioning be somewhat neglected and the children 
be given a chance to do some independent work. 

Every Prussian elementary school is divided into three sec- 
^ Verjilgung vom 18 Jan., igi2, Amtliches Schidhlatt, No. 4. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 247 

tions {Stufe). No matter whether it is a one-class or eight- 
class school, it has a lower section, a middle section, and an upper 
section, just as we in America might speak of the pri- The 
mary, intermediate, and grammar grades of a common Sections 
public school. These sections are created for pedagogical reasons, 
radical changes in methods and in subject matter depending 
more upon the section a child may be in than upon the class 
within any given section. This division of schools into sections 
evidently arose from the time when all elementary schools were 
one-class schools and the children were divided into general age 
groups for the sake of rough classification, exactly as in Ameri- 
can country schools which are ungraded, but divided up into 
age groups. The Regulations of October 13, 1872, said in re- 
gard to this matter : 

§ 12. The Volksschule, even the one-class school, is divided into sec- 
tions, which correspond to the different stages of age and advancement 
of the children. Where a Volksschule has four classes, the middle section 
has two classes, and if the school has six classes, each section has two.^ 

B. Courses of Study 

As has been said before, the curriculum of the Prussian Volks- 
schule of to-day is practically the same as that determined by the 
General Regulations of 1872. The subjects of instruc- 
tion according to these regulations are reHgion, Ger- instruction 
man language (conversation, reading, writing, spelhng, \^ Prussia 
grammar), arithmetic, geometry, drawing, history, 
geography, nature, and singing, also, gymnastics for the boys 
and handwork for the girls. A study of the curricula which 
follow will show how the present-day courses vary from those of 
1872. 

^ As a rule the middle section comprises the fourth and fifth years of school 
work. 



248 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



COURSE OF STUDY OF THE PRUSSIAN VOLKSSCHULE ACCORDING 
TO THE REGULATIONS OF 1872 





Lower Section 


Middle Section 


Upper Section 


% 


One- 
Class 
School 


Several-Class 
School 


One-Class 
School 


Several-Class 
School 


One-Class 
School 


Several-Class 
School 


Religion . . . 
German , . . 
Arithmetic . . . 
Geometry . . . 
Drawing . . . 
History 1 
Geography / * " 
Nature .... 
Singing .... 
Gymnastics . . 
(Handwork) * 


4 
II 

4 

I 


4 
II 

4 

I 

2 
(2) 


5-6 
10-9 

4 

I 
6 

2 

2 

(2) 


4 
8 

4 
2 

6 

2 

2 

(2) 


5-6 

8-7 

5 

2 
6 

2 

2 

(2) 
30 


4 
8 

4 

2 
2 

6(8) 

2 
2 

(2) 


Totals . . . 


20 


22 


30 


30 


30 (32) 



As will be seen later from the courses of study of different 
cities, some minor changes have been introduced, or rather the 
New Sub- subjects named above have been broadened, or called 
by different names. Physical training for girls has 



jects 



been introduced in practically all schools. Handwork has been 
added in comparatively few schools. At the first glance the 
program given above seems to neglect grammar, spelHng, and 
composition, but these subjects are all included under the general 
heading ''German." The Realien are real subjects, geography, 
history, physics, chemistry, botany, and zoology (biology). It 
will be noticed that the first years of the school are devoted 
largely to German, while the greater part of the remaining time 
is given to religion and arithmetic. At the beginning of the 
middle section new subjects, such as geography, history, anc 
nature study, are introduced. 

1 For the girls. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 249 

The most striking difference between the German and Ameri- 
can courses of study is the presence of religion in all German 
Volksschulen, and it claims a large portion of the Differences 
total time. Physics and chemistry, in an elementary between 

. . American 

form, are more general in Germany than m America, and German 
Physical training is not always a part of the American ^^^^^^ 
course of study, while it is found invariably in the German 
Volksschule. The differences between the subjects of instruc- 
tion in the lower schools in the two countries are discussed more 
in detail in the chapters relating to the several subjects. 

The courses of study given below at some length will present 
a clearer idea of the number of subjects taught and the time 
devoted to each, than a long discussion of the subject would do. 
The tables are taken from courses of study published by the 
various cities, except that the writer has computed the percent- 
ages in order to aid the reader in grasping more quickly the rela- 
tive value of each subject. Naturally, a three-class or a one- 
class school cannot give so much material as an eight- or a seven- 
class school. It must also be remembered that while the course 
of study throughout Germany is rather uniform, the subject 
matter and the hours are not always uniformly divided. For 
example, what might be taught in Pomerania in the sixth year 
in geography might easily be given in Mecklenburg the seventh 
year or the fifth year. There is a rather definite amount of 
material which must be taught, but within this limit there is a 
very large degree of variation as to when any particular part of 
a subject shall be treated. 

In general we may conclude that the city schools are organized 
in Germany on the seven- and eight-class basis, while the rural 
schools tend chiefly toward one-, two-, or three-class ^ 

Summary 

systems. The size of the class and the number of 

pupils per teacher fall between fifty and sixty. City schools are 

non-coeducational, while the country schools are mixed. With 



250 



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253 






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256 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



very few exceptions, all schools are on the confessional basis. 
The subjects of instruction are rehgion, German (which includes 
reading, writing, spelling, composition, and grammar), arithmetic, 
history, botany, zoology, physics, chemistry, physiology (and 
hygiene), singing, drawing, physical training, and handwork for 
girls. 

BOYS' VOLKSSCHULE IN HILDESHEIM. SEVEN GRADES 



SUBJECTS 



Religion . 
German 
Arithmetic 
Geometry . 
Geography- 
History 

Botany and Zoology 
Physics and Chemistry 
Writing . . . 
Drawing . . . 
Singing . . . 
Physical Training 
Totals . . 



CLASSES 



Lower Section 



VII 



3 

lO 

4 



VI 



3 

lO 

4 



21 



Middle Section 



I 
2 
2 

I 
2 

24 



IV 



2 
2 

I 
2 
2 
2 
3 
28 



III 



2 
2 

I 
2 
2 
2 
32 
28 



Upper Section 



II 



4 
6 

4 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
I 
2 
2 
3 
32 



4 
6 

4 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
I 
2 
2 
3 
32 



Hours 
Percent 

age 



26 
SI 

28 

4 
9 
8 

4 
7 
II 
10 
II 
14 
183 



Total 



100 



CHAPTER XIII 

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION AND ORGANIZATION OF 
SUBJECT MATTER 

Until the end of the seventeenth century the subject matter 
held the place of chiefest importance in the field of elementary 
instruction, for it was thought what was taught re- ■„. x . , 
quired no particular application of method in order Develop- 
to be assimilated by the children. Memorization ™®*** 
naturally was the basis of such instruction, and this theory of 
learning, though not advanced by many teachers at the present 
time, is very largely practiced. Ratich and Comenius in the 
first part of the seventeenth century, and the Pietists in the 
latter part of the same century, tried to use methods whereby 
the subject matter would be made more easy of acquirement. 
Greater consideration was given the pupil, and the methods 
employed were suited more closely to the psychological nature 
of the child's mind. One of the direct results of such methods 
was a wider use of the mother tongue as the language of the 
school, and a more extensive study of history and nature. 

This tendency on the part of the Pietists was carried still 
further by the Philanthropinists, who held that learning should 
not only be made easier by being made to fit the psychological 
tendencies of the child mind, but that it should be spiced and 
sweetened and made attractive, in fact, almost converted into 
play for the children. 

Pestalozzi (i 746-1827) looked upon method and subject matter 

as a means of developing intellectual and spiritual power. The 

school was not merely to be a place to learn, but a place where 

the children should be educated and trained. The question 

s 257 



258 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

with Pestalozzi was not the acquisition of mere facts and knowl- 
edge, but rather the development of intellectual and spiritual 
Purpose of Capacities — and, in some senses, formal training. 
According to Subject matter was of importance only in so far 
Pestalozzi as it furnished exercises for thought, speech, and 
action. Pestalozzi's successors tried to combine the acquisition 
of knowledge and the development of power as the end to be 
attained by instruction. 

With Herbart and his followers the aim and end of instruction 
was the formation of moral and religious character. It was 
Herbart's not Herbart's intention merely to furnish the child 
Purpose ^j^jj 3^ definite number of concepts by the form and 
content of the instruction and subject matter, but rather to 
shape thereby the will and directly to affect the moral nature 
and attitude of the child. 

There is naturally at the present time in Germany great 
divergence of opinion as to the purpose of instruction in the 
Volksschule. German school men agree that the purpose of the 
instruction in the elementary school is not mej-ely the acquire- 
ment of certain facts and of certain abiHty to do this or that thing, 
but rather the regular development of the natural tendencies 
and capacities of the child, because it is only in this way that 
a sufiicient training can be acquired. Efficient citizenship is the 
purpose of education. It is generally considered the specific 
business of the Volksschule to furnish that general training 
which every one must possess in order to be socially efficient. 
Other schools may furnish broader and more specific training, 
but the Volksschule should lay the foundation. 

From the German point of view the Volksschule must satisfy 
the following points : 

1. Make good German citizens out of the pupils. 

2. The instruction given in the elementary classes must afiford the 
children enough material, practical facts, and knowledge of how to do 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 259 

things so that they may understand their environment and their in- 
tellectual and spiritual inheritance. There are certain Purpose of 
linguistic, geographical, scientific, mathematical, and histori- the Volks- 
cal facts, as well as reading and writing, which are absolutely ^^"^^^ 
necessary for every person, no matter what occupation he may follow 
in Ufe. 

3. The formal training of intellectual powers is generally considered 
to be one of the tasks of the Volksschule. The child's faculties of observa- 
tion, comparison, and reasoning must be developed. This old conception 
of formal training is still the prevalent one in Germany among many 
teachers. The leading school men, however, no longer hold to the theory 
of properties of memory, reasoning, and the like. Schwochow says : ^ 
" Experience and the newer psychology teach that subject matter produces 
formal training only within the subject to which it is related ; or intellec- 
tual power, which we call formal training, holds good only in that group 
of conceptions to which it is itself related. This rule holds for all in- 
tellectual powers: memory, will, understanding, and imagination. For 
example, a pupil well drilled in grammar is not thereby qualified to form 
logical conclusions in geometry, if his thinking is not trained in this di- 
rection. He, who retains readily the words of a foreign language, often 
finds difiiculty in remembering dates and names of places." 

4. As a result of the practical and industrial tendency of the age, there 
is a growing demand on the part of some of the progressive school men 
that the fundamentals of vocational education be laid in the Volksschule. 
Kerschensteiner 2 says that the first and most important task of the 
pubUc school is trade or occupational training, the foundations or prepa- 
ration for which can be begun at least in the Volksschule. 

5. Among the leaders in educational thought in Germany there is a 
demand upon the Volksschule, which is fulfilled only to a small degree, 
that the children be trained to do productive work. 

The selection and choice of subject matter for any school 
depend on the aim and purpose of that particular institution. 
The aim of the German Volksschule as stated above „ , . 

Selection of 

helps explam the elementary course of study. It Subject 
is the purpose of the Volksschule to give an elemen- ^*"®' 
tary general training. Upon examining the course of study we 

* Methodik des Volksschidunterrichts, p. 12. 2 Begriff der Arbeiisschulej p. 23. 



26o PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

are impressed first by the lack of manual training for the boys, 
and second, by the fact that each subject is given in its barest 
and most fundamental elements. Everything that pertains 
to training for a trade or occupation is eliminated, except in 
towns and cities where manual training and bookkeeping have 
been introduced. That there are exceptions to the foregoing 
statements goes without saying. 

Attention will be called to the character of the course of study 

in the separate chapters dealing with the teaching of the various 

subjects found in the elementary curriculum. It is 

the Field of OTify necessary to remark here that all occupational 

the Voiks- instruction and indeed much that is included in 

schule 

the American elementary curriculum are omitted 
from the curriculum of the German Volksschule because the 
continuation and trade schools assume the responsibiHty for the 
occupational training of the youth. The majority of pedagog- 
ical thinkers in Germany believe that it lies without the province 
of the elementary schools to impart instruction of technical 
trade or occupational character. 

Another very notable characteristic of German curricula is 
their brevity. The subject matter in the lower schools is pared 

down to the bare essentials. The principles of selec- 
of Selection tion are essentiality, psychological fitness, objectivity, 
of Subject g^j^(j contemporaneousness. For example, in natural 

science only such facts are included in the curricula 
as can be gained by observation or concrete representation. 
Scientific systems, names, classes, families, characteristics, 
rules, laws, and all such abstract matters are excluded. 

But, after all, the curriculum of the Volksschule is largely 
New ^^ inheritance handed down from generations long 

Subjects past, and many parts of it have survived several 
centuries. Two of the newer subjects are housekeeping and 
cooking for girls. Civil government {Burger kunde) has been 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 261 

admitted in some places, as has also handwork or manual 
training. 

Each German elementary school has a course of study (Lehr- 
plan). In Prussia it is based on the General Regulations of 
1872. The course of study contains an outline of The Coxirse 
the subject matter of the particular subjects of in- ®^ ^*"^y 
struction and divides the matter into courses for the several 
classes of the school. It also states the aim or purpose of each 
subject and usually gives general rules or principles of method. 
A great deal of value is laid upon this course of study and it is 
issued either by the administrative county board or by the city 
school deputation with the former's approval. The teacher 
has nothing to do with its formulation. The course of study 
shows not merely the sequence of subject matter or of single 
course, but also the parallehsm of subject matter and topics 
and their connection. As far as we have observed, the course 
of study allows the teacher a great deal of freedom as to choice 
of topics and methods. He is practically unhindered in the use 
of any good method. The detailed course of study {Lehrstof- 
verteilungsplan), which is mentioned below, is made either by 
the teacher or the school, and only seldom by the higher school 
authorities. The Lehrplan merely shows the way in big outline. 

The value of a general course of study for American schools 
is apparent. Such a course establishes a minimum and sets 
no maximum, and prescribes no method. Its greatest advantage 
is in regard to school administration and management, in that 
children may transfer from one school to another, from one 
state or county to another without a great loss of time, such as is 
almost always occasioned by transfers in our schools. But we 
know the time of any national agreement on a course of study 
for our elementary schools is a long way off, and may never 
come, owing to the great differences in local conditions and tra- 
ditions. 



262 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

In the sixteenth century the curriculum of the Volksschule 
was thoroughly of a religious nature. It consisted of catechism, 
Develop- reading, and singing of church songs, and occasion- 
ment of the ally writing and arithmetic. During the seventeenth 
Course of ccntury the elements of arithmetic, history, geog- 
^*^^^ raphy, and,.natural science were made a part of the 

work of the elementary schools, which additions can possibly 
be ascrifted to the effect of empiricism and realism. The Schul- 
methodus of Duke Ernst of Gotha represented this new move- 
ment in elementary education. Under the influence of Pietism 
and Philanthropinism in the eighteenth century, the religious 
instruction was enlarged by the addition of BibHcal history 
and sacred song ; the German was enriched by oral and written 
exercises ; and singing was improved by the use of secular songs. 
In the general Rural School Regulation of 1763, some of these 
innovations were included, but only to a very limited extent. 

Prussia, during the nineteenth century, issued two official 
courses of study, the Regulation of 1854 by Stuhe, and the 
Present General Regulation of October 15, 1872, by Dr. K. 
Course Schneider. The new subjects introduced were 

physical training, drawing, and handwork for the girls. Con- 
sequently, at the present time the Prussian curriculum for the 
Volksschule contains rehgion, German (speaking, reading, writ- 
ing), arithmetic and geometry, drawing, singing, history, geog- 
raphy, science, physical training, and handwork for the girls. 
Nothing further need be said concerning the principles on 
which the choice of subject matter is made. They are just 
the same in German schools as in our own and so well known 
that we have only mentioned them. 

In Germany, the subject matter, which has been chosen for 
Arrange- presentation, is arranged sometimes on the basis of 
ment of q^q Qf three theories : that of organization of subject 

Subject " "^ 

Matter matter in concentric circles, that based on the cul- 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 263 

tural development of the race, and that of correlation and 
concentration. Up to the present time, the concentric circle 
theory has had the most followers in German educa- „ 

Concentnc 

tion. According to this theory the relatively easiest Circle 
and most important knowledge is placed in the first ^°^ 
year's work, and thereafter, with a repetition of that which has 
already been studied, the circle or sphere of knowledge is 
widened, more and more each year, so that finally the subject 
matter Hes like rings about the first year's work, which forms 
the center of the whole structure. 

The advantages of the concentric theory are : i . The in- 
struction 'can be made to fit the intellectual development of the 
pupil in every grade. 2. The child's apperceptive mass aids 
in learning new material. 3. Constant repetition assures the 
assimilation of the subject matter. 4. A rounded and complete 
conception of the matter is afforded by means of the frequent 
reviews and treatment of the same material in different grades. 
5. Pupils are able to leave with a completed sphere of knowl- 
edge, if they cannot finish the whole course of the school. 

On the other hand, Herbartians find fault with this theory 
on the ground that there is not close enough connection among 
the various subjects of instruction, that in the upper classes 
little new material can be offered the children, and that by 
constant repetition and expansion of old material the pupils 
lose interest and become indifferent. In short, the theory of 
concentric circles produces indifference, boredom, overloading, 
and disorder. (Rein.) 

Another theory of organization of subject matter which we 
find in the German course of study is that agitated by Ziller. It 
is the culture epoch theory, which bases itself on the ^ , 

Culture 

assumption that the child in its development repeats Epoch 
the experience of the race; that is, the child goes '^^^^^^ 
through the same stages of development that the race has gone 



264 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

through. According to this theory a sphere of thought, char- 
acter-building material, shall be taken up as the middle point 
of each year's work. The other subject of instruction shall 
be correlated and concentrated about this central point. Ziller 
selected the following historical circles of thought on which 
to base his course of study : 

First year : Twelve fairy stories. 

Second year : Robinson Crusoe. 

Third year : The Patriarchs. Thuringian or other German myths. 

Fourth year : Stories of heroes. The Judges. The Nibelungen. ] 

Fifth year: Israelitish kings and prophets. German emperors from 
Karl the Great to Rudolph of Hapsburg. 

Sixth year: Life of Jesus. Migration of the races. Papacy and the 
empire. Crusades. 

!^Seventh year: ApostoHc history. Age of discovery. The Reforma- 
tion. The Thirty Years' War. 

Eighth year : Luther's Catechism. Age of Frederick the Great. War 
of Liberation. Reestablishment of the German Empire. 

This theory of Ziller's has not found much acceptance in Ger- 
many for the simple reason that there is no proof for the assump- 
tion on which the whole plan of organization is based. Further, 
Ziller's eight-step theory is applicable only to systems which 
have eight grades. Also, it is not very probable that nature 
and history have so arranged themselves in eight successive 
pyschological steps, simply because the Prussian sets the period 
of attendance at eight years. 

The Herbartians, Ziller, Dorpfeld, and Rein, with the theory 
of correlation and concentration of instruction, dominate the 
The Theory German elementary school to-day. The course of study, 
of Correia- or rather the subject matter in its arrangement and 
Concentra- Organization, is Herbartian. There are, of course, 
°° different schemes of correlation. Some Herbartians 

seek to establish interrelations among subjects, while others 
group the various subjects and correlate these groups. There 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 265 

are few teachers in Germany who do not beHeve in the theory 
of correlation, but a very large number object to the strained 
efforts of many followers of Herbart to establish interrelations 
which are entirely artificial. Another objection made by the 
systematic German is that through too much correlation a 
subject loses its independence, which makes a logical presenta- 
tion more dijficult. 

Reformers in Germany to-day demand that the child be made 
the center of all instruction. The course of study should be 
arranged according to the intellectual development and the 
interest of the pupils. The pupils shall be the point of con- 
centration. The home, the environment, and the cultural 
development of the fatherland shall be the points around which 
the subject matter shall be grouped. Correlation of related 
subjects and topics is taken as a matter of course. 

There is a group of reformers in Germany at the present time 
which demands an undifferentiated course of study for the first 
year's work. Such a course does not contain reading, undifferen- 
writing, and arithmetic as formal subjects but inter- *ia*ed 

°' . "^ Course of 

laces and correlates them with all the work and play study for 
activities of the school. Work, as a principle of ^^s^^^''^ 
method, is the foundation stone of this scheme of organization 
of subject matter. This type of coarse of study and the methods 
necessarily entailed thereby are rather common in the larger 
city systems of Germany. Frequently this type of instruction 
does not occupy the whole first year, but only a half-year, or 
, until the children get acquainted with their playmates and 
teachers and are thoroughly at home with the business of going 
to school. The chief advantages of the undifferentiated course 
of study are that the methods employed under such a system 
necessarily involve greater activity on the part of the children, 
and that the formalism of the ordinary routine subject is entirely 
avoided. The school of Behrtold Otto in Lichterfelde near 



266 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Berlin furnishes abundant evidence of the value of this type of 
instruction. 

One hears a great deal to-day in Germany of the Arheits- 

schule (work-school). It must be said, however, that one hears 

much more of this kind of school than one sees. Under 

The 

" Work- the Arbeitsschide one groups together all those move- 
Schooi" ments of pedagogical reform which seek to intensify 
the work done in the school and to mold the training of the 
children to meet contemporary needs. The name arose out of 
contrast to the ''book-school" or the "learning-school" {Buch- 
schule or Lernschule). This movement is a new one and it is 
very difficult to state the real difference between the typical 
Volksschule designated "learning-school" and one designated as 
a "work-school." The difference is very noticeable to a visitor. 
In one the children are merely learning, and in the other they 
are learning by doing. 

The customary method of instruction has for its aim the ac- 
quirement of a prescribed set of facts. Its purpose is the ac- 
quisition of knowledge. The danger in this method 
Method of is that knowing and doing are never more than arti- 
instruction ^^-^jjy connected. The child never has the right sort 
of interest in mere "learning-work," and as a result what has 
been learned is very easily forgotten. 

The method employed in the "work-school" starts from the 

child rather than from the subject matter. The child is the 

central point of interest. Its aim is to develop all 

of the ^ ^ the mental and physical activities of the child, to 

'1Y°^}^:, educate the child up to independence of thought 

School . , - . . 

and action through self-activity. 

The idea of the Arbeitsschule has employed the minds of 

German educational theorists for many years. It comes down 

to us from Comenius, Pestalozzi, and Froebel to the present 

time. Its present appearance is partly due to experimental 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 267 

psychology, which lays great importance on the influence that 
muscular sensations have upon the intellectual development of 
the child. Further, the entire social situation de- „. , . , 

' , ... Histoncal 

mands a great place for the practical activities. The Develop- 
more industry vanishes from the home and is con- °^^^ 
centrated in factories, so much the more are 'Svork-instruction" 
and the "work-school" necessities in our educational systems. 

Even if the idea of the "work- school" in Germany is not 
new, it cannot help but make the typical methods more fruitful 
and effective. Among the majority of German school 
men at the present time there seems to be a lack of Principle of 
clearness as to the function of the "work-school." s uc on 
They feel that there must be some agreement between shopwork 
instruction, which emphasizes the practical work as a discipline, 
and the Arheitsschule, which lays stress upon manual activities 
as an educative factor. To many reformers the introduction 
of shopwork into the schools is a practical, real means of ac- 
complishing the aim of the Arheitsschule. They base their 
demand for such work in the school upon the influence which 
the hand has for the development of intellectual life. It is not 
to be denied, however, even if it were psychologically proven 
that the acquirement of spatial concept were dependent on 
manual activities, that it would still be uncertain how far hand- 
work is able to affect the other mental functions. Likewise it 
remains to be proven, whether the principle of the Arheitsschule 
can be solved only in connection with workshop instruction, 
or whether it is to be considered a pure didactic imperative. 

The Minister Trott zu Solz, in writing of this matter in 191 1, 
said : 

Whence it follows that the construction work, known by the name of 
Werkunterricht (manual work), shall arise from the needs of all subjects of 
instruction, and that a new course of study is not needed which would re- 

^ Zentralblatt, 191 1, p. 394. 



268 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

quire Werkunterricht as a new subject of instruction alongside the other 
usual school activities. Also construction work cannot be limited to a 
single subject. Rather it must be employed wherever observation appears 
necessary or wherever the object itself awakens within the child the con- 
structive instinct or the desire. If the educative purpose of construction 
work is always kept securely in mind, it cannot develop into mere play. 

At the present time the most discussed problem in German 
educational circles is in regard to work in the school as opposed 
to mere learning. The whole matter resolves itself into the 
question of whether the child shall do independent work, be it 
manual or intellectual or both, or whether the child shall merely 
study a book. The school of reformers at Dortsmund sums the 
matter up well when it says : ^ 

We stand for a " work-instruction " in which so far as possible the pupil 
works out independently his own world, the real as well as the historical, 
be it through observation or experiment, or be it through reading or ques- 
tions. 

In addition to containing an inner scheme of organization 
of subject matter, the course of study of a German elementary 
Outer Char- school must be definite in regard to some other points, 
acteristics They have to do with the outv/ard form of instruc- 
erai Course tion. I . The course of study must set the aim to 
of study i^g accomplished in each particular in each grade and 
in the whole school. 2. An outline of the subject matter of 
each subject for every grade. 3. The length of the course and 
the number of hours weekly in each subject and in each grade. 
4. Regulations in regard to work to be done at home. 5. Regu- 
lations regarding general methods, teaching material, and books. 

In addition to a Lehrplan, each school or class has an outline 
course of study {Stofverteilungsplan). It is merely a detailed 
course of study. The subject matter, given in large outline in 
the general course of study, is divided up among the weeks 

^ Dortmunder Arheitsschule, p. i. 



METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 



269 



of the year or half year. It is to be made before the beginning 
semester, and the topics taken up in each subject are assigned 
to this or that week throughout the term. The The Out- 
teacher knows then just what progress he must make Hne Course 

, 111 1. o^ Study 

each week m order to get over the whole amount 
of work. The outline is approved by the local inspector or the 
principal of the school, and it is always kept in the classroom 
for reference. The outhne course of study is made sometimes 
by the city school superintendent or a group of teachers. As 
a rule, however, the class teacher proposes it and is allowed quite 
a good deal of liberty in the choice of topics and in regard to 
the amount of time spent upon any given group of topics. 

The teacher must also keep a report of progress made in each 
subject. This report is kept in a separate book called the 
Lehrbericht, in which the teacher notes the topics Lesson 
taught and disposed of, as well as the progress of the Report 
pupils. The value of this report is not very great, outside of 
the fact that it must be made and that it keeps the teacher up 
to schedule. As far as we have examined such reports the most 
common note made in these books is ''completed." Its form 
is as follows : 





German 


History 


Religion 


Etc. 


First Week 

Second Week 

Third Week 


Completed 
Completed 
Completed 


Not completed 
Not completed 
Not completed 


Completed 
Completed 
Completed 


Etc. 
Etc. 
Etc. 



The weekly schedule {Stundenplan or Lektionsplan) shows 
the arrangement of the lessons for a week, the number of hours 
devoted to each subject, the days on which these The Weekly 
lessons come, and the teacher who is to give each Schedule 
lesson. In large schools, that is, in schools of several grades, 



270 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

there is a schedule for the whole school, and in each classroom 
there is a weekly schedule for that grade. These schedules are 
followed most diligently. As a rule, religion comes first in the 
morning, and the other subjects which require a great amount 
of mental exertion are put as early in the day as possible. Sub- 
jects like drawing and music are placed at the end of the morning 
session or in the afternoon. 

Such is the general organization of subject matter, which 

in a large measure determines the methods to be employed. 

The aim of the elementary school is probably of the 

Conclusion 

greatest value to the German educator. Method 
is placed above subject matter, for it is the basic principle of 
German life, not how much is done, but how and how well it is 
done. 



CHAPTER XIV 
GENERAL METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

It is very difficult to make the statement that a certain sub- 
ject is taught in such and such a way in the Prussian or German 
elementary schools, because there is a great deal of liberty al- 
lowed the teachers in the matter of method, and because there 
is a great diversity of method in the different states of the empire. 
Remarks made in the following pages concerning methods in 
the various subjects of instruction are based on the observation 
of over six hundred classes in Volksschulen in cities and country 
districts scattered over the whole of Germany. 

The teaching in the Volksschule is by the oral method, which 
means that there is comparatively little written work or reading 
done by the pupils, but that the chief source of in- orai 
formation is the teacher, who presents the subject Method 
matter in the form of carefully prepared talks or lectures. The 
children listen very carefully to what the teacher says, and 
repeat it after the teacher has concluded. This method makes 
great demands upon the teacher physically and mentally. First 
it requires a large amount of energy to talk the greater part of 
four or five hours every day, and second, the teacher must pre- 
pare the lesson with extreme care in order to be able to present 
it to the children in a clear and interesting manner. The Ameri- 
can visitor must truly wonder at the ability almost invariably 
shown by the German teachers in the presentation and delivery 
of their material. The manner of speech is slow, deliberate, 
but full of animation and life, and, as a rule, the teacher awakens 

271 



272 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

and holds the attention of the children. The children must also 
expend great amounts of energy in paying close attention to the 
subject in hand, for three, or four, or five periods in succession, 
and one is often led to beHeve the attention given on the part 
of the children is a physical rather than a mental attitude. 

Sometimes a teacher talks for twenty or twenty-five minutes 
without interruption and then he stops and begins to question 
General ^^^ children in regard to what he has said. This, 
Form however, cannot be said to be the mode of procedure 

tion. generally in use. The general form of recitation in 

Review subjects which admit of the oral method, such as 
history, literature, religion, science, and geography, is the follow- 
ing : First of all comes the review of the previous lesson or 
lessons for a few minutes, generally ten or fifteen. In this part 
of the lesson the teacher calls upon some pupil to summarize 
or repeat that which the latter has learned about a given subject 
or topic. The German teacher is not satisfied just because a 
child knows a thing to-day, but makes him repeat it to-morrow 
and the next day. Wiederholen (repeat) is the word most 
commonly heard in the German school. This review is not neces- 
sarily connected with the lesson of the day, although it is in the 
majority of cases. The review is not always limited to fifteen 
minutes, but frequently takes thirty and sometimes forty min- 
utes. This continual review of old work is the most powerful 
and effective means of compelling the child to know what he is 
supposed and required to know. Often the teacher will have 
three or four children give the review work, and the recitation 
of each child will be practically the same, word for word, as the 
recitation of the others. This forces the conclusion that the 
review is a matter of memory rather than repetition of something 
which the child has thought about and assimilated. But in 
spite of the memorization or because of it, the review accom- 
plishes its work, the acquirement of certain facts. Long periods 



METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 273 

of review at the end of the term are not so common in Germany 
as in America, obviously because this work is carried on from day 
to day. 

The next part of the lesson is the advance work. Ordinarily 
the teacher says, "The work for to-day is such and such a topic." 
The superscription is, for example, ''The preparation Advance 
of the ground for sowing." This short sentence is ^°^^ 
called the Uberschrift, and is what we call the topic heading. 
A lesson will be put under four or five such sentence headings 
in order to aid the child in grasping and memorizing what will 
be said. Invariably the teacher asks the children after an- 
nouncing the heading to repeat the topic heading, and he re- 
quires that it be repeated four or five times, so that the children 
will know what he is going to talk about at least. Then the 
teacher talks five or six minutes about this topic. It is from 
these little talks or lectures that the child gets its new material, 
and not from books as in American schools. These talks are 
short, clear, concise in form, well delivered, and above all, dis- 
tinctly delivered. As soon as the teacher has finished his remarks, 
he begins to ask questions covering the subject matter of the 
topic in hand. 

The procedure which follows is one of the most interesting 
and at the same time one of the most vital points in the whole 
educational process of the German schools. The first question 
is generally, "What is the heading (Uberschrift)?^^ The next 
step is either the request to relate or repeat what has been said, 
or the content of the teacher's remarks is obtained question by 
question. The first method allows the child more Hberty and 
affords him a better chance for some independent work. The 
second method, that of direct question and answer, is a purely 
mechanical process, the question of the teacher generally being 
turned about by the pupil and made over into an answer of some 
sort or other. 



274 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The first method is very much Hke methods apphed in America, 
with the difference that the children in America get the material 
which they are to recite upon from a text-book, while the Ger- 
man children depend upon the teacher. Some teachers allow 
the children to use their own words in reproducing the subject 
matter just presented. Other teachers insist, either purposely 
or unknowingly, upon the children repeating verbatim what 
the former have said. It is natural and easiest for the children 
to use the words which the teacher has used. Some children 
show an almost marvelous ability in memorizing, and if they 
hesitate, they need only a single word suppHed by the teacher 
to enable them to go ahead with the recitation. 

The commonest form of aid given the children in the memori- 
zation of the subject matter is the first four or five words of the 
sentence which the child is trying to recall. Some teachers 
give a great deal of such aid, others who do not insist on too 
accurate memorization give less of such help. Not merely one 
pupil is asked to recite, but several, one after the other, no matter 
whether the first recitation was good or bad. It is exactly as 
if in an American school a boy were called upon to tell how corn 
is planted, and as soon as he had finished one were to ask four 
or five more boys to tell the same thing and in practically the 
same words. It is true, that so much repetition of the same 
recitation is not always the case, but it is all too frequent. How- 
ever, it accomplishes what the teacher desires. There are a 
certain number of facts which the children must learn and they 
learn them by memorizing them. When children acquire these 
facts from text-books, they do not stick closely to the text in 
recitation. In fact, they cannot remember the words of the 
book so well, and are forced to formulate the thoughts in their 
own language, but when they have just heard the words from 
the mouth of the teacher, almost involuntarily they repeat what 
they have heard without thinking seriously of the content. 



METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 275 

The second method is that of question and answer. The 
Minister of Education in 1908 wrote as follows : ^ " The method 
of instruction develops too much into the form of mere question 
and answer. More time is to be allowed to the self-activity 
and independent work of the children. The questioning too 
often aims at an enlargement of the question by particular 
words, or deals with what is perfectly obvious. The questions 
are too easy and awaken the interest of the pupils to too small a 
degree. It is necessary to make greater claims upon the thinking 
and power of judgment of the pupils." Teachers who employ 
the question method in order to obtain the repetition of what 
they have presented to the children run the risk of falling into 
the habit of formal question and answer. This is one of the great- 
est faults of the German elementary school teacher. After he 
has presented the subject matter he begins to question for the 
content, sentence by sentence. Frequently he is not satisfied 
unless the child repeats the exact words which the teacher has 
used. The great trouble is that the question is too easy and 
Y)etrays the answer in its own form. The commonest type of 
question might be called the memory question. The judgment 
question is a rarity in the average recitation. With some teach- 
ers the judgment question is much more frequent and especially 
in such subjects as physics, chemistry, geography, and botany. 
But we can safely say that in going into German Volksschulen 
at random eight questions out of ten will be purely memory 
questions, the others falling in other categories. We counted 
five hundred questions in classes taken at random and the re- 
sults gave four hundred and seventeen memory questions as 
against eighty-three of all other kinds. 

When the children seem to have learned the main things 
under the first topic heading, the teacher continues his remarks 
under the second heading, third heading, and so on, until he has 

^ Ministerial Erlass vom ji Januar, igo8, Zentralhlatt, 1908, p. 379. 



276 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

finished the day's lesson. Each topic is treated just as the first, 
and at the end the children are asked to repeat the topic headings 
and sometimes to summarize the whole lesson. 

The greatest fault brought about by the methods as described, 

and these methods are in general use, is the lack of independent 

thinking and action on the part of the pupil. No 

JUoCa 01 ^ 

independ- allowance IS made for the indi\'iduality of the chil- 
on*the°Part ^^^^^ ^lemory work is everything. The children are 
of the required to memorize so much that Httle or no time 

is left during recitation periods for free interchange 
of thought between teacher and pupils or between one pupil 
and another. Naturally the child is called upon at times to 
think for himself, but it is by no means as frequent as it should 
be. The teachers often say that they have so much material 
which they have to teach that there is no time left for open 
and free discussion in class. That does not seem to be the case, 
however. The course of study is not overcrowded, as the reader 
will see later on. The lack of time arises because memoriza- 
tion is the slowest kno\^Ti process of acquiring knowledge. The 
children are called upon for a great amount of memory work 
in history, reUgion, geography, literature, music, and science. 
In arithmetic the memory drill is not noticeable, because the 
rules are learned by actual appKcation and by practical examples. 
Teachers frequently say that they try to get their pupils to do 
independent work, but as long as they use the method of lectur- 
ing and repetition, they will find that the children have no oppor- 
tunity to do and think for themselves. 

The causes for the lack of self-acti\dty and independent think- 
ing on the children's part are not far to seek. The subject 
Pupu matter is given to them and is required of them again 

Questions jj^ much the same form. Pure memorization excludes 
opportunity for thinking. The second cause is perhaps as great 
in its importance as the first. It is very, very seldom that a child 



METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 277 

is allowed to ask a question in regard to the subject under dis- 
cussion. The teacher looks at the matter from this standpoint : 
''I have said everything about the subject that the child needs 
to know. My explanations have been clear. What has the 
child to inquire about?" Such questions are not absolutely 
forbidden, but they are not encouraged. One teacher said to 
me: ''Why, that would destroy the discipHne, and the regular 
order of the lesson. One would never get through with the work 
planned." It must be admitted that the explanations offered 
by the German teacher in the presentation of the lesson are 
almost without exception clear and logical. But a child who is 
thinking and who is interested in the subject will have some 
questions to ask, or something of his own to offer. I had visited 
over three hundred classes in the Volksschulen in Prussia before 
I heard a question from a pupil or a request for an explanation 
of a question which had occurred to him. Since that time I 
have found one teacher who openly encouraged the children to 
ask questions and who gave up a part of each lesson to this work. 
Other teachers have said that they allow their pupils to ask 
questions, but in the classes w^hich I visited with them I did 
not hear any. It is also very seldom that a teacher will permit 
a question during the course of his explanation. There may be 
more excuse for excluding questions here, but there is none for 
bringing children into such a condition that they do not want 
to ask questions. The German elementary teacher has the field 
of pupil-questions yet to develop, and when he does, he will 
have taken the first great step toward developing self-activity 
and independence in his pupils. The German school child 
knows a great deal, for it has been poured into him, just as water 
is poured into a jug, but he does not think for himself or act for 
himself. He is non-independent. His individuahty has been 
left undeveloped. 

The ordinary lesson in the Volksschule is pedagogically Her- 



278 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

bartian. The different steps of the teaching process may be 
indicated by the preparation, presentation, comparison, gener- 
^ , . , alization, and apphcation. Of course, one or more of 

Pedagogical . 

Form of the these steps may be omitted or two steps may be com- 
Recitation j^jj^g^j^ ^g jg frequently the case. 

It is very seldom that one hears a German teacher present a 
lesson which is not well prepared, well organized, and logical 
in its progress. This is due largely to the training of the normal 
schools, which in Germany are institutions to teach the young 
men and women how to teach, how to present the subject, how 
to select the relatively important, and neglect the less valuable, 
as well as academic institutions where more information is 
obtained. 

Another great help to teachers in Germany is the lesson 
plans {Prdparationen) , which are obtainable for almost every 
topic in every subject taught in the Volksschule. Some of these 
lesson plans are very fully developed, even the questions and 
answers being given. Of course, no teacher could use such a 
lesson plan verbatim in the school, but the outline and form of 
the lesson can be of very great help to him. The lesson prep- 
arations furnish to teachers the subject matter of the lesson as 
well as the form in which to present it. To what extent these 
forms are used is impossible to say, but judging from the great 
number of such publications on the market, there must be a 
large demand and sale for them. A still more valuable aid to 
the teacher comes in the form of handbooks and manuals, which 
are especially prepared for the Volksschulen. In every subject 
a teacher can buy literally hundreds of books which will help 
him directly in the preparation of his lessons. Since these books 
are written for elementary teachers, it is not necessary to pick 
and choose and spend long hours seeking out the proper material 
to give the children. In the matter of teaching helps, as in many 
others, the German teachers are much better equipped than are 



METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 279 

our teachers. We can account for the excellent general form 
of the lessons in the Volksschulen in no other way than that 
the importance of form is drilled into the teacher at the normal 
school, and that his training there is continued and supported 
afterwards by excellent lesson helps and manuals. 

There is still another factor which keeps the German teacher 
up to a high standard in method and in form of instruction, and 
that is the strict supervision under which he stands. Every 
German teacher has a superior somewhere, and, in order to ad- 
vance, he wants the approval of that superior. It is another 
very characteristic German trait to do well whatever is at hand 
and to take pride in it. This, together with the knowledge that 
his work is always under inspection, keeps his standard of work 
very high. We may not always think that the standard is of 
the right kind, but it is the best of the kind to be had. 

The matter of school organization also aids the teacher in hold- 
ing the form of the lesson up to the mark. In the middle and 
upper sections of schools with several classes, each recitation has 
forty-five or fifty minutes. This length of time enables the 
teacher to develop the lesson carefully and completely. In 
American schools the recitation periods are generally much 
shorter, especially where each grade is divided into two sections, 
occupying the same room. The amount of subject matter 
which a teacher selects for one recitation is little in com- 
parison to lessons assigned in America. This is another factor 
which enables the German teacher to finish in a well-rounded 
manner the subject under discussion. The conciseness and 
clearness of the presentation plus the deliberate, well-planned 
progress of individual lessons makes one feel after hearing a 
lesson that a good solid brick has been laid securely and well 
in the educational structure. 

Text-books are used very little in the Volksschule. This, of 
course, necessitates a method not employed in our elementary 



28o PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

schools. For example, in history the children are not assigned 
so many pages to be read at home. The teacher is the text- 
book, as mentioned before, and indeed, a speaking 

Text-books ' , . , , i ., , ,. rr^ i i 

and In- text-book, to which the children hsten. iext-books 
stniction ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ -^^ home study to any considerable 

degree, but are chiefly used in class for occasional reference. 
In arithmetic, however, problems for solution at home are 
usually taken from a problem book, but the book is in our sense 
of the word not a text-book, in which methods of solution and 
explanations are given, as a substitute for the teacher. Ger- 
man school children know very Httle about books and how to 
acquire information from them. They are, in comparison with 
our children, poor readers, chiefly because books do not mean 
the same to them that they do to American children. I have 
seen little reference work at all done in the Volksschulen, that is, 
I have seldom heard children requested to read books supple- 
mentary to their regular work in class. In reading, the text- 
books are much the same as in our schools. Supplementary 
readers are seldom seen. Some schools have libraries, but they 
are very Httle used. In the other subjects, such as history, 
geography, science, etc., there are no text-books, but a reader 
for all these subjects together. The children are referred to 
this book at times after the topic has been discussed in class. 
Naturally, without text-books the children do very little work 
at home. They have some written work occasionally and gen- 
erally problems for arithmetic. It is a safe estimate that the 
average German school child spends Httle more than half an hour 
in home work. In school, however, the child is at work from 
the time school begins until it ends.^ Commonly in America 
the child has study periods scattered throughout the day. Not 
so with the German child in city schools. One subject follows 
right upon the heels of another until the day's work is done. 
^ This is true only where one teacher has one class. 



METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 281 

And it must be so. The teacher, in view of the lack of a text- 
book, must furnish the material for the children to learn, and 
then must find out if they have learned it. Consequently 
there is neither time nor need for study periods. There is, how- 
ever, little doubt that good text-books would relieve the 
German teacher of a great deal of work, which the children could 
obtain as well through a text-book as through the teacher. Time 
thus gained could be used in giving the children more opportunity 
for independent discussion and work in the recitation period, 
or the teacher could introduce new and interesting sidelights 
on the regular routine work. Too much text-book and too 
little teacher is not good, but the reverse is not much better. 

The children in the German elementary schools have much 
less written work to do than our children. The form of that 
which they do is excellent, the content leaves much written 
to be desired. Dictations for the sake of form, spell- ^°^^ 
ing, and the like are very frequent, but short. Original com- 
positions are written once every two weeks at home, while pre- 
pared compositions are required at least once a week. A pre- 
pared composition is one for which the subject has been talked 
over in school, the form is prescribed, and it amounts generally 
to little more than a spelling and writing exercise, for the think- 
ing has been done in advance by the teacher. The original 
compositions prepared independently at home are generally 
in connection with the work at school, and the subject of the 
composition is frequently determined by the teacher. Another 
form of written work in some schools is the daily essay (Nieder- 
schrift). It consists merely of a few sentences written in class 
at the close of a recitation, generally summarizing the main 
points of the lesson, or treating some one topic. Five or ten 
minutes are given to such work. These several forms of com- 
position work are discussed in the chapter dealing with German 
instruction. From the lowest grade to the highest in school 



282 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

written work is always handed in in notebooks, written in ink. 
The teacher and the children as well are reHeved of great burdens 
by the small amount of written work. The children do not 
write easily or fluently, because of lack of practice, and because 
the work, such as is done, is too formally prepared. The Min- 
ister of Education recognized that the written work was faulty 
and touched on the subject in his order of January 31, 1908. 
He is quoted at some length because this order is one of the few 
issued since 1872 dealing with methods : 

For work in written expression the essays, comparatively few in number, 
vvhich are frequently prepared without a purpose, are not sufficient, but 
there must be frequent, and if possible, daily written exercises in the form 
of short essays (Niederschriften). This exercise begins in the lowest grades 
with the composition of short sentences and develops more and more in the 
upper classes into short essays, which are finally to be written without any 
special preparation, and whose content is to be taken out of the various 
subjects treated, and also from the experience and observation of the 
children. Such written exercises are to be prepared not only in the Ger- 
man instruction, but also in other branches, namely, the Realien. Correc- 
tions, as a rule, are to be made by the pupils in the class. 

In regard to the real compositions, the subjects are to be chosen from 
the subject matter already treated, and from the experiences and observa- 
tions of the children. Real life conditions are to be considered in letters 
and in business correspondence. Topics are to be excluded which lie far 
from the consciousness of the child, which go far out beyond their power of 
comprehension and expression, and which would only lead to verbosity, 
which do not express what the children themselves have thought and felt. 
In working out the composition a drill on one definite, set conception of the 
subject is to be avoided. Even if the chief thoughts and the outline are 
worked out in common by the teacher and the pupils, the latter are to be 
allowed the greatest possible liberty in particulars in the form of expression. 
The preparation for these exercises can disappear more and more in the 
upper sections. These exercises are not to be corrected by the teacher, for 
in this case the corrected copy would only have the value of a writing les- 
son. The compositions can be read aloud by individual children, then 
commented on by the teacher and corrected by the pupils themselves in 
the original form. Then the teacher looks over the compositions as cor- 



METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 283 

rected by the pupils. On the return of the compositions mistakes which 
occur rather frequently are to be explained, just as in the case of the daily 
written exercises {Niederschriften) . 

These recommendations of the Minister show most clearly 
where the weaknesses of the written work lie. The children have 
not been and are not yet allowed freedom enough in the selec- 
tion and preparation of their material and in the execution of 
their own ideas. 

The German teacher makes concrete the ideas which he is 
trying to present. The child learns by eye as well as by ear. 
German schools are provided richly with maps, charts. Teaching 
models, machines, pictures, and other material, ^atenai 
There is never an overabundance of such material, but there 
is rarely a topic discussed in class without there being some sort 
of a representation of it before the eyes of the children. In 
religion there are maps and pictures, and in history the same 
with charts in addition. Maps and globes are almost without 
niunber in geography, while in the sciences there is always plenty 
of physical and chemical apparatus, and models of animals 
and birds, either artificial or natural. As a result of so much 
care and expenditure in this respect, the child has ever before 
the eye something concrete with which he can tie up what the 
teacher is saying. The average teacher, however, just in this 
connection, misses his best opportunity to let his pupils develop 
their self -activity. Instead of asking the questions, "What 
do you see here?" ''What do you know about the object?" 
"What have your experiences been with such things?" and so 
on, he generally tells the children all about the object, to be sure, 
very fully and accurately, and then the children are asked to 
repeat what they have been told. 

We would not be stating the exact state of affairs, if we closed 
our remarks on the general class procedure here. What has 
been said applies to the average recitation. The reader must, 



284 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

however, withhold judgment of German teaching methods, 
until the chapters on the several subjects have been read. Above 
all else, the method must be finally judged in light of the aim 
of the entire process. 

There is a large number of teachers and principals, the leaders 
in school thought, who do not conduct their classes in the manner 
described above. Some features are the same. One may say 
that all steps mentioned are present in the recitations of these 
more advanced teachers, but there are other more vital elements 
in addition. These teachers make allowance for the individuality 
of their pupils, and they make provision in their method for 
individuality. These teachers recognize the fact that children 
are by nature active workers and not merely jugs into which 
something may be poured. They recognize that these children 
want to do things. A concrete example will serve to show 
just how these teachers let the children develop and employ 
their thinking capacities instead of forcing them to memorize 
facts. Naturally these better teachers do not all employ the 
same methods. 

This lesson given in S was about bees. The teacher had 

pictures of bees, beehives, and honey. Then she had a model 
of a honeycomb, showing how the bees stored the product of 
their labors. The first question, after they had all looked at 
the pictures and models, was : ''What do you know about bees? 
Tell me anything you know if you think it is important enough." 
The children, though of only nine or ten years of age, began to 
pour out their information, and when they had finished, every 
child in the room knew how the hives were made, where the honey 
came from, all about the queen, swarming and its causes, and 
many other details, some amusing, but all real to the children. 
Next the teacher said, ''Have you any questions to ask?" The 
questions were not long in coming: "Where do little bees 
come from?" "Why doesn't the honey run out of the comb?" 



METHODS IN GERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 285 

"How many bees are there in a hive?" and without exception 
these questions were real and to the point. Some of the ques- 
tions the teacher answered, but the children were generally given 
a chance first to answer their fellow's questions, and their ex- 
planations often sufficed. When this was all over, there wasn't 
much left for the teacher to say, for they had all talked about 
it together. There were points which needed clearing up and 
this the teacher did. At the close a child was asked to summarize 
what had been learned. There was no rote work or memory 
drill, but these children knew about bees. Their capacity for 
bee observation had been wonderfully developed. Their atti- 
tude toward the subject was, "I know this about the bee, but 
what is that?" Their minds were inquiring and open. The 
bell rang and there was a chorus of ''Oh's" in disappointment. 

The next period following the same class was very different. 
Another teacher was there, a teacher of the method described 
first. The children had acquired the inquisitive attitude of 
mind and began to ask questions about the whys and where- 
fores of things. The teacher silenced them and began to drill 
in the facts cut out for the week's work. The bell rang in due 
time amid rejoicing. 

The reader, however, will get a much clearer idea of methods 
actually employed by reading the stenographic reports of lessons 
given in following chapters dealing with the various 

Conclusion 

subjects of the Volksschule. The lessons given are as 
nearly typical of the general practice as we have been able to 
secure. The danger is always present that the classes observed 
were not t3^ical, but owing to the comparatively large number of 
classes visited, we believe that the lessons selected from the whole 
group of reports are rather representative of German methods. 



CHAPTER XV 
RELIGION 

*' Among all the subjects of instruction in the German ele- 
mentary school, religion, without doubt, occupies the most 
Importance important place." A statement to this effect is found 
of Religion jj^ ^]^g work of practically every German school man 
writing on the relative values of the different branches of study. 
It seems much safer to say that religion is one of the three most 
important subjects, German and history being the other two. 
It may be difficult for Americans to understand why so much 
time, about an eighth of the total, is given to this subject. 
Religion, according to German school men, has a twofold pur- 
pose to fulfill. First, and of lesser importance, it must acquaint 
the children with the faith of their fathers. Second, and of the 
higher importance, it must teach the children their duties to 
God, the king, the Fatherland, and their fellow men. To an 
impartial observer who has seen a large number of lessons in 
religion taught in the German schools, the real aim of all the 
instruction in religion is to justify the doctrine of the divine right 
of kings in the hearts and minds of the people. Frequently we 
have heard teachers stating the doctrine that there is a very 
close relationship between piety and patriotism, between obedi- 
ence to God and obedience to the temporal king. 

In one sense of the word religion is the oldest subject of in- 
struction in the German Volksschule. From the period of the 
earHest beginnings of the Volksschule, when religion occupied 
practically the whole time of instruction, there has been a gradual 
decrease in the amount of time allotted to it, but even to-day it 
occupies a comparatively large place in the curriculum. Under 

286 



RELIGION 287 

the Hohenzollern kings there has been a very marked effort to 
make the people religious, and develop in them that sort of piety 
which causes a people to sacrifice everything for God, king, and 
the Fatherland. Even Frederick the Great, disbeliever though 
he was, insisted that his people study religion in order that they 
would be obedient and subservient to the authorities over them. 
At the present time the study of religion has produced in the 
mind of the average German the idea that God, king, and coun- 
try are equally sacred, inviolable, and coexistent. 

No German child is excused from religious instruction. If 
the child is a Protestant, he attends a Protestant school; if a 
CathoKc, he attends a Catholic school ; and if a Jew, sectarian 
a school of that faith, if there be one. In case the Schools 
child has no religion at all, he is not excused, but must study 
the lessons in rehgion of the school which he attends. Under 
no circumstances is it left to the parent's discretion as to whether 
his child shall or shall not receive religious training. All that a 
parent can do is to choose from the types of instruction offered. 
It very often occurs that a community is predominantly of one 
confession, and contains only a few children of other faiths. 
According to the German school law no child is required to receive 
religious instruction except from a teacher of his own confession. 
Accordingly, a Catholic child in a predominantly Protestant 
community does not receive his instruction in religion in the 
regular school, but receives it from his own clergyman at some 
definite time. Such a child must obtain a certificate of attend- 
ance from his clerg3mian and present it at his own school. 

In large cities where all religious denominations are repre- 
sented in large numbers, it is comparatively easy to sectarian 
organize sectarian schools. There are verv few Jewish Schools in 

./ ^ Cities and 

Volksschulen, for as a rule Jewish children attend the in the 
higher schools, or are so few in number that they ^^^^^^ 
prefer to take their religious instruction with the rabbi. In 



288 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

rural districts the matter is not so easily regulated. It is the 
custom in districts which are of differing religious beliefs to es- 
tablish a school of one faith in one village and of the other faith 
in the neighboring village. Of course, this necessitates children 
walking quite long distances sometimes, but in reality it causes 
no serious difhculties, for villages in Germany are never very far 
apart. 

In Prussia and in practically all German states religious in- 
struction in the schools is supervised by the church. In former 
_ . . times the clergy had control of the teaching of all sub- 

Supervision . . 

of Religious jects in the Volksschulen, but all branches of the cur- 
^ ^ ^^ riculum, save religion, have been removed now from 
their supervision. It is with a death -grip that the church 
holds on to this last stronghold. Several times a year the pastor 
or priest of the district visits the schools and sees if religion is 
being taught in an orthodox manner. As a rule, the pastor 
inspects the school about Easter time and visits each class. 
After he has made the round of the rooms, he meets the teachers 
in conference and makes his suggestions. The pastor has real 
power of recommendation and while visiting may even request 
the teacher to turn over the class to him. It is very seldom, 
however, that this is done. We recall such an occasion in a large 
city school in Prussia, which brought on quite a lot of discussion 
among the teachers as to the pastor's right to do more than 
observe what was being done. Some of the teachers even went 
so far as to tell the pastor in the conference that he had exceeded 
his rights. The principal of the school immediately read a 
passage from the Prussian constitution which runs : ^ "The 
churches control the religious instruction in the schools." After 
the meeting was over the principal of the school explained to 
the teachers in private in no uncertain terms just who their 
superiors were in matters pertaining to rehgion. 

1 Verfassungsurkunde, Art. 24, Heinze, Itn Ami, p. 4. 



RELIGION 289 

The socialists in Germany oppose religious instruction in the 
schools for the reason that they see it is the foundation of mo- 
narchialism and imperialism. In some cities where 
the socialists are particularly strong they have made and Religion 
attempts to remove religion from the elementary cur- ^^^, 
riculum, although as yet they have not been successful 
in any case. Teachers have frequently told me that one of the 
hardest things to combat in the upper grades of schools is grow- 
ing disbehef on the part of the children, and that this disbelief 
is occasioned by socialistic parents who tell their children that 
the religion taught in the school is all a humbug and that they 
need pay no attention to it. This was true particularly in the 
great industrial centers of western Germany, near Essen, Bar- 
men, Dortmund, Elberfeld, and Dlisseldorf. Every effort is 
made by the government to combat the influence of socialism, 
and teachers are required to preach openly against its mali- 
cious(?) influences. 

If in large cities there are about an equal number of Protestant 
and Catholic schools, it is the custom to have two 
superintendents {Stadtschulrdte) , one for the Protestant tion of 
schools and one for the Catholic schools. There is no Sectarian 

Schools 

especial advantage in this except that teachers and 
pupils liked to be supervised by one of their own confession. 

There are Protestant and Catholic editions of practically all 
elementary school text-books. For example, there are Protes- 
tant and Catholic editions of school histories, readers, sectarian 
science readers, and religious texts, as well as some of Text-books 
the other texts. The books differ in their treatment of certain 
phases of history, religion, and hterature. It is necessary to have 
these sectarian texts on account of the great divergence of S3an- 
pathies existing among the different classes of people. 

Religious instruction consists of the catechism, Biblical his- 
tory, church history, and the Uturgy, which consists of church 



290 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

ritual, prayers, church music, calendar, and pericopes. As a rule 
special hours are assigned only to Biblical history and the cate- 
Reiigious chism, while the other phases of religious instruction 
Instruction g^j-g given in connection with them. Biblical history is 
used for illustration of the doctrines laid down in the catechism, 
it furnishes a great many proofs of the truth of the doctrines 
found in the catechism, it gives concrete form to these doctrines. 

Four hours a week in religion are given throughout the ele- 
mentary school course, except in the last year when the number 
Hours per IS decreased to three, because of the extra time which 
^®®^ the children must spend in preparation for confirma- 

tion. (See below.) In addition to this the children are urged to 
go to church on Sunday, but as a rule the children seem satisfied 
with the amount of spiritual food they receive in the school. 

The following is a brief outline of the course of study for a 
seven-grade system : 

Class 7. Fourteen Bible stories, eight passages from the Bible, five 
stanzas of songs, five commandments, and three prayers. The following 
are some of the stories: Joseph and His Brethren, Joseph Is Sold into 
Egypt, Joseph in Prison, Jacob Goes to Egypt, The Birth of Jesus, The 
Wise Men from the East, The Twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple, Jesus 
and the Children. 

Class 6. Fourteen Bible stories, seven passages, eight stanzas of song, 
three commandments, and one prayer. The Bible stories include : Abra- 
ham and Lot, Isaac's Birth and Sacrifice, Jacob and Esau, The Feeding of 
the Five Thousand, Jairus' Daughter, Jesus' Crucifixion and Death, and 
The Resurrection of Jesus. 

Class 5. Nineteen Bible stories, eleven passages, four stanzas of songs, 
the second commandment, and the second article of the catechism without 
explanation. The stories include : David and Goliath, Moses' Birth, 
Absalom, The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan, Jesus before Pilate and 
Herod, and Jesus' Ascension. 

Class 4. Twenty-one new stories, twenty-one passages, twenty-three 
stanzas of songs, explanation of the first section of the confession and the 
first and third articles of the catechism. 



RELIGION 291 

Class 3. Twenty-nine new stories, thirty-nine passages, eighteen stanzas 
of songs, the explanation of the three articles, and the Twenty-third Psalm. 

Class 2. Memory material, twenty-seven passages, thirty stanzas of 
songs, the Ninetieth Psalm, 1-12, One Hundred and Thirtieth Psalm, the 
books of the Bible, the explanation of the third section of the confession, 
and the text of the fourth and fifth articles of the catechism. Bible read- 
ing : The Psalms and the Life of Jesus. The pericopes. 

Class I. Twenty-one passages, twenty-five stanzas of church songs, 
the first and fourth sections of the confession. First and One Hundred and 
Twenty-first Psalm. Bible reading: Old Testament, the Psalms and 
about the prophets of Israel. New Testament, Christ's Hfe and teachings. 
Church history covering the persecution of the Christians, Augustine, 
Boniface, Huss, the Reformation, Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli, Calvin, 
and Francke. Home and foreign missions. Treatment of all parts of the 
catechism. That is to be considered especially which has meaning for the 
social and religious hfe of the present : Superstition, materialism, the oath, 
observance of the Sabbath, attitude shown toward gentlemen, servants, 
superiors and rulers, modesty in word and deed, what is mine and yours, 
honesty in business, contentment, gratitude, social-political legislation, 
charitable institutions. 

As in all other subjects of instruction, there is an enormous 
amount of material in religion which the children are required 
to memorize. There are one hundred and one Bible Memory 
stories that the children must memorize, one hundred ^°^^ 
and thirty-five passages from the Bible, one hundred and thir- 
teen songs, as well as all of the catechism, liturgy, and pericopes. 
In addition to this the church and apostolic history is practically 
all memory work. There are, to be sure, many lessons given to 
it, but at the same time it makes heavy demands upon the 
children. 

No text-book is used in religion in the first three years in the 
majority of schools. In the intermediate and upper sections the 
children generally have a Bible reader (hihlisches Lese- _ 

7 ,x f . 1 . 1 1 . \. . , Text-books 

ouch), which contams the catechism, liturgy, ritual, 

hymns, church history, Bible stories, which are written in Bibli- 



292 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

cal style, and extracts from the Bible, or a paraphrase of cer- 
tain parts of it. The Bible itself is not always in the hands of 
the pupils, but it is usually in their hands in the upper classes. 
Sometimes the catechism is in a separate book and frequently 
the church hymns are bound by themselves. 

Every school, whether in the city or in the country, is re- 
quired to have a map of Palestine as part of its equipment. In 
actual practice most schools have several maps of the 
quipmen jj^jy L^nd and of the countries mentioned in the 
Bible. Besides, it is customary to have pictures illustrative of 
the sacred stories which are presented to the children. One 
most frequently finds pictures representing Christ in the Temple, 
Christ's nativity, the Crucifixion, and other of the more striking 
and dramatic incidents in Bible story. 

Although the religious instruction consists of Bible stories, 
catechism, liturgy, songs, and other elements, the work is closely 
correlated. In the lower section, that is, the first 
stories and three years, a large part of the work consists of Bible 
History stories. Stories, like those of Joseph and of Jesus, are 
selected to fit the abihty of children. The general method of 
teaching such stories is the same as that used in teaching fables 
and fairy tales in the corresponding grades. The teacher tells 
the story in a lively animated manner, and all the while is careful 
to keep his language extremely simple and clear. Generally he 
uses a sort of paraphrase of the Bibhcal story. After a few sen- 
tences of the story have been related, one or two pupils are re- 
quired to repeat the story in practically the words of the teacher. 
In fact, all the stories are learned in this manner throughout 
the grades. The children seem to enjoy learning Bible stories 
and delight much more in telling them. In the upper grades the 
children often go over in their Bible readers the stories they have 
memorized and use them as a reading lesson. The memoriza- 
tion is very efficiently done and years after the children have 



RELIGION 293 

left school they are able to repeat a long list of stories that they 
have learned in the religion class at school. We have talked 
frequently with young men and women who have finished the 
Volksschule and on being asked to repeat this or that Bible story 
were able to give it almost word for word. In making a test of 
this point, a housemaid was given a list of Bible stories in order 
to see how many of them she could repeat. She was able to 
recite every one of them with almost no hesitation. 

Catechism is begun in the very earHest grades and is made 
increasingly difficult as the work progresses. All of this work is 
purely of memoriter character and the children must 

Catechism 

know absolutely every word of it. Naturally, there 
is some explanation of the meaning of the doctrines and teach- 
ings of the church, but this comes in the upper grades after a large 
part has already been committed to memory. Practical appli- 
cation is made of the truths contained in the catechism, partic- 
ularly in the last two years of school. Such questions as super- 
stition, materialism, perjury, honesty, and the like are discussed, 
and the teachers strive hard to impress the children with the 
cardinal truths of life. It is also worthy of note in connection 
with the teaching of the catechism that the relation of the citizen 
to his God and his king is especially stressed. Perhaps more 
is made of this point than of any other. 

In all the grades of the school, parts of the hturgy, that is, 
prayers, responses, masses, pericopes, church calendar, and 
hymns, are given, although the larger part of the 

Liturgy 

liturgy IS reserved for the last years in school, just pre- 
vious to the time when the children are supposed to become full- 
fledged members of the church. There is an enormous amount 
of material to be learned. First of all, there is a great number 
of songs, the words and meaning of which are learned in the 
rehgion hour, but which are generally sung in the music period. 
The songs which are learned are those in most common use in 



294 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the churches of the community. The whole of one hymn is 
rarely ever learned at one time, and sometimes all the stanzas 
of some hymns are never learned. As far as our observation 
went the children find a great deal of real joy in singing the 
hymns, although they display a far greater readiness in singing 
secular songs. 

Learning the church calendar and the pericopes also lays 
quite a serious claim upon the memory of the children. In this 
work they are required to commit to memory the scriptural 
assignments for each church service during the whole year. 

In addition to all this there are a number of prayers, benedic- 
tions, invocations, and the like which the pupils must commit 
to memory. 

The children receive a great deal of benefit from the study of 
church history, for within the scope of this phase of rehgious 
Church instruction is included the history of the Jews, the 
History Romans, and the Germans with regard to their rela- 
tionship to Christianity. Naturally the history of none of these 
peoples is treated very intensively, but generally the teachers 
take great pains to describe the development of the races which 
have been vitally touched by Christianity. The method in 
presentation of the material is the same as that in the regular 
history period. The teacher relates the subject matter to the 
pupils and explains its meaning to them. After this has been 
done the children merely tell what they have learned, but 
which fortunately they are not forced to commit to memory. 

The avowed purpose of the religious instruction demands that 

some sort of moral appKcation be made. By apphcation is not 

meant merely a general moralization, but an appHca- 

ofBMe^^ tion of the principles which have been developed in 

stories and ^-j^g study of historical characters to the Christian 

History -^ ... . , 

life of the children, and to their circle of duties and 
responsibilities, to their errors, temptations, and trials. 



RELIGION 295 

Biblical geography is the description and discussion of the 
places and regions connected with the Bible narrative. There 
are no special hours set aside for this work, but it is BibUcai 
treated incidentally. Particular attention is given to Geography 
the geography of Palestine, while Greece, Rome, Egypt, and 
Germany are also treated. Of course, the political geography 
dealt with is that of Bible times, and is not of very much value 
to the children at present. The physical phase of the subject, 
however, is handled rather fully and can be rather closely corre- 
lated with the regular work in geography. 

The xehgious instruction in the German elementary school 
aims to develop moral principles for the everyday Kfe of the 
children. The children are acquainted with these 
principles through precept rather than through prac- Training vs. 
tice. The children receive instruction in moral prin- ^°^^ ^^" 

.... struction 

ciples rather than training m their apphcation. The 
German child has very few opportunities to exercise his moral 
judgment in school. The routine of the school robs him of that 
chance. In the Volksschulen there are no organizations for the 
children which are so fruitful in offering occasions to the chil- 
dren to decide between right and wrong. Ordinarily the teacher 
states the moral lessons to be drawn from the Bible lessons or 
stories. Frequently, it is done in the following fashion: "Why 
did Joseph's brothers cast him into the pit?" "They cast him 
into the pit because they were jealous of him." "What should 
we not be?" "We should not be jealous." This process, no 
doubt, acquaints the child with the moral ideas, but it is ques- 
tionable if it has a very great influence upon the conduct of the 
children. 

German school children are not without training and firm 
grounding in morals. It is not gotten, however, from the reli- 
gious instruction in school but from training at home and in the 
community. The example of the teacher is also a very powerful 



296 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

influence in shaping the characters of the children. German 
children are honest, courteous, punctual, conscientious, and 
thrifty. Their training and rearing at home is the most im- 
portant factor in their moral education. Thrift they learn by 
example and by precept. In many places the pupils are en- 
couraged in saving by the establishment of school savings banks. 
One of the greatest moral virtues of all German children is their 
respect for the law. They acquire this respect from the atti- 
tude of their parents and the entire citizenship toward the 
law. They know that they must have respect for the law, 
for they know its operation is as inevitable as the rising of 
the sun. 

Despite the great amount of religion taught in the schools the 
Prussian people are not rehgious. The attitude of the majority 
Eff t f ^^ religious matters is not that of antagonism toward 
Religious the church, but rather that of the utmost indifference. 
In the Catholic sections of Prussia and in southern 
Germany the people are much more devout than in those sec- 
tions which are predominatingly Protestant. In a number of 
large cities in Prussia it has been found that about one per cent 
of the population attends a church service once a week. Prac- 
tically every one belongs to a church, but that is about as far as 
it goes. The church in Germany is not the social institution 
that it is in America. One very rarely hears religion and the 
church and its activities spoken of. The church is a part of 
the order of things in about the same sense as the fire depart- 
ment is. It is state supported, state managed, and state con- 
trolled in a very large measure. It can operate without the 
individual efforts of the citizens, hence no one bothers himself 
about it. 

The commercialization of Germany is one of the large con- 
tributing factors in the growth of religious indifference. Ger- 
many is the most commercial, most money-mad nation in 



RELIGION 297 

the world to-day. It is often said that the American sacrifices 
everything for the dollar. The German sacrifices everything 
for the pfennig. The god of the German is force, ^ 

and his religion is Germanism. The German state Religious 

. ^1 • n T j-T- • i. J Indifference 

IS their all. In consequence the piety and reverence 
of the old German is buried deep beneath the onrushing current 
of industrialism, materialism, and their passion for wealth and 
world power. Only a national disaster can make the German 
pious and reverent as of old. Germany has enormous wealth, 
and with its sudden acquisition has come an alarming indul- 
gence in luxury, vice, and pleasure. Nachtlehen (night hfe) 
has the nation in its grip, and this type of Hfe is not Umited 
to BerHn, but is found in the capital of every province, and 
in small cities, and in villages. When any nation begins to 
make day out of night, it has begun to undermine its own 
foundations. 

It is a sad commentary on German moral life, as well as upon 
the effect of religious instruction in the schools, to know that 
one hundred and seventeen out of every one thousand births 
are illegitimate. Women openly employed in vice are not in- 
cluded in this number. From these figures it is very evident 
that sex immorality claims a very high percentage of the people. 
This is another cause of the decay of the spirit of piety and 
reverence. 

Observation of the German people at work and at play leads 
us to the opinion that the religious instruction of the schools 
has Uttle effect upon their moral life and an ever decreasing 
effect upon their rehgious life. Every virtue is taught the chil- 
dren, but the average German man indulges himself in his early 
years either in drunkenness, licentiousness, or selfishness. He is 
not charitable. His positive virtues are honesty and thrift. 
There can be no more positive proof than Germany that "Moral- 
ity cannot be taught." 



298 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

RELIGION 
II (Sixth-year) Class. Girls 

Teacher : What are the chief reUgions of the world ? 

Pupil: The chief reHgions of the world are the Christian, which exists in 
Europe, America, and many other parts of the world ; the Jewish, 
which is scattered over the face of the earth ; the Mohammedan reli- 
gion, which exists chiefly in Turkey, Persia, and in northern Africa ; 
the Buddhist religion, which exists in Japan and India ; and the heathen 
religion. 

Teacher: Repeat that. 

Pupil: The chief religions of the earth are the Christian, existing in Europe, 
America, and many other parts of the world ; the Jewish religion ; the 
Mohanrniedan religion, which exists in Turkey, Persia, and northern 
Africa ; the Buddhist religion in Japan and India ; the heathen . . . 

Teacher: In what land near Japan is the Buddhist religion strong? 

Pupil: In China ; and the heathen religion in all parts of the world. 

Teacher: What religion do we honor? 

Pupil: The Christian religion. 

Teacher: Where did the Christian religion get its name? 

Pupil: It received its name from Christ. 

Teacher: What did Christ announce to mankind? 

Pupil: Christ proclaimed that he was the Son of God. 

Pupil: He proclaimed also that we should believe in Him. 

Pupil: He proclaimed that we should receive the kingdom of Heaven. 

Teacher: We say God revealed himself to mankind. To whom did God 
reveal himself? 

Pupil: God revealed himself to mankind. 

Teacher: Through whom did God reveal himself? 

Pupil : God revealed himself through Jesus Christ. 

Teacher: Had God ever revealed himself before the time of Christ? 

Pupil: He revealed himself to the Israelites. 

Teacher: By what man did he reveal himself? 

Pupil: God revealed himself through Moses. 

Teacher: Yes, Moses was God's agent. God revealed himself twice, first 
through Moses to the Jews, and secondly to all men through Christ. 
How often and to whom did God reveal himself ? 

Pupil: God revealed himself twice, first to the Jews through Moses, and 
then to men. 



RELIGION 299 

Teacher: All men. 

Pupil: And then to all men through Christ. 

Teacher: Where is this revelation? 

Pupil: It is in the Bible. 

Teacher: Yes, but God revealed himself not only by writings, but also by 

speech. What does the word Bible mean? (No replies.) The word 

Bible . . . 
Pupil: It means Holy Scripture. 
Teacher: No, it means hook. You have other books, though, haven't 

you? What ones? 
Pupil: The reader, the arithmetic, the grammar. 
Teacher : But why call this the Book ? 
Pupil: Because it contains the Holy Scripture. 
Pupil: Because it is important, a special book- 
Teacher ; That is right. It is sometimes called the Book of Books. What 

is it sometimes called? 
Pupil: It is called the Book of Books. 
Teacher: Why is the Bible more important than all other books, than the 

reader or the grammar ? 
Pupil: It is more important because it was written by Christ. 
Pupil: Because it contains the Holy Scripture. 
Pupil: Because it was written by Luther. 
Teacher: It was not written by Luther, only translated into German by 

him. This book shows us something special. 
Pupil: It shows us the way of Hfe. 
Teacher: That is, the way to God. Therefore it is the most important of 

all books. The word Bible is a very common one, but still it is a 

foreign word. It comes from the Latin for book. What else is the 

Bible called? 
Pupil: It is called the Holy Scripture. 
Teacher : Why is it called holy ? 
Pupil: Because God's word is holy. 
Teacher: What else is in the Bible ? 
Pupil: There are proverbs, parables, history in the Bible. 
Teacher: What is the content of the Bible? 
Pupil: The Bible contains the Holy Scriptures. 
Teacher : Again. 
Pupil: The Bible contains the Holy Scripture, and proverbs, parables, 

and history. 



300 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: What kind of history ? 

Pupil: Sacred history. 

Teacher: Who wrote it? 

Pupil: The Prophets and Moses wrote it. 

Teacher: What is the meaning of the word Bible? 

Pupil: The word Bible means book. 

Teacher : Why is it called only that ? 

Pupil: Because it is the most important book of all. 

Teacher: What way does the Bible show us? 

Pupil: The Bible shows us the way to God. 

Teacher: It is worth more than all the other books. What other name 

is given it ? 
Pupil: The Holy Scripture. 
Teacher: Again. 
Pupil: It is sometimes called the Holy Scripture. It deals with the 

revelation of God. 
Teacher : Why is it an especially important book ? 
Pupil: Because it contains the Holy Scripture. 
Pupil: It is especially important because it shows the way of life. 
Teacher: Why is it called the Holy Scripture? 
Pupil: It is caUed the Holy Scripture because it contains the word of 

God and it is holy. 
Teacher: What is the third name sometimes given to the Bible? 
Pupil: The Word of God. 

Teacher: That is easy to explain. Why is it called the Word of God ? 
Pupil: Because it contains the words of God. 
Teacher: Have you read the Bible? 
Pupil : Yes. 

Teacher: What language is it written in? 
Pupil: It is in German. 

Teacher: Has the Bible always been in German? 
Pupil: It has been in German since the time of Luther. 
Teacher: What language was it in before Luther's time? 
Pupil : Latin. 
Pupil: And Hebrew. 
Teacher: Did Christ speak Latin? 
Pupil: He spoke German. 

Teacher: No. Now think where he lived. Where was that? 
Pupil: He lived in Palestine. 



RELIGION 301 

Teacher: What language did he speak then? 

Pupil: He spoke Hebrew. 

Teacher : In the time of Jesus none of the Bible was written and collected 
as it is now. What language did the prophets and apostles speak ? 

Pupil : They spoke Hebrew. 

Teacher: Some of them wrote in another language. What language ? 

Pupil: Latin. 

Teacher: No, Greek. How did that come? (No answer.) At that time 
Greek was the language of commerce and culture, and it was spoken 
everywhere. It was a world language. What would have happened 
if the disciples spoke only Hebrew and the Bible were only in Hebrew ? 

Pupil: Then the religion would have been for the Jews only. 

Teacher: Yes, and that was not the purpose of Christ's coming. He 
brought salvation not only to the Jews, but to aU men. Therefore a 
new language had to be used and the part of the Bible written in 
Greek was the New Testament. What does the word Testament 
mean? 

Pupil: It means Bund (alliance). 

Teacher: How many people are needed to form an agreement or covenant? 

Pupil: Many. 

Teacher: At least how many? 

Pupil: At least two. 

Teacher: Yes, there are many alliances. Your father and mother have 
formed an alliance ; and Germany, Italy and Austria have made an 
alliance. Who made the alliance in the Bible? 

Pupil: God and man made an alliance. 

Teacher: Who was the negotiator of this aUiance? 

Pupil: Jesus Christ. 

Teacher: What does testament mean? 

Pupil: Testament means an alliance. 

Teacher : What conclusion must you draw when you speak of a new Testa- 
ment? 

Pupil: That there is an old Testament. 

Teacher: With whom did God make the old alliance? 

Pupil: He made the old alliance with the Israelites. 

Teacher : Who was the negotiator of the old alliance ? 

Pupil: Moses. 

Teacher: Yes, God made two alliances (or covenants) with Man. The 
first was between God and mankind and Moses was the negotiator; 



302 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

and there is a new covenant between God and Man through Jesus 

Christ. Summarize that. 
Pupil: God made two covenants with man. He made the first covenant 

with Man through Moses; and he made the second covenant with 

Man through Christ. 
Teacher: What was the language of the Old Testament ? 
Pupil: The Old Testament was in Hebrew. 

Teacher: What was the language of the Bible which Luther found? 
Pupil: It was in Latin. 
Teacher: The Greeks after a long time lost their leadership and a people 

hving to the west of them became their leaders. They lived in the 

country that is now Italy. They were the Romans. What language 

did they use ? 
Pupil: Latin. 
Teacher: The Christian religion was spread over western Europe by 

Roman priests and all of them spoke Latin, so it became necessary, 

inasmuch as they preached in Latin, to translate the Bible into Latin. 

Repeat that. 
Pupil: The priests who spread the Christian religion in Europe all spoke 

Latin, so that it was necessary to translate the Greek and Hebrew 

scriptures into Latin. 
Teacher: What did we talk about first? 
Pupil: We talked about the names of the Bible. 
Teacher : Then what ? 

Pupil: We spoke of the language of the Bible. 
Teacher: Tell me about that. 

Pupil: At the time of the Romans, the Bible was in Hebrew. . . . 
Teacher : In what language was the Old Testament ? 
Another Pupil: The Old Testament . . . 
Teacher: What is the oldest or first part of the Bible called? 
Pupil: It is called the Old Testament. 
Teacher: In what language was the Old Testament written? 
Pupil: Latin . . . 
Another Pupil: It was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was in 

Greek. In later times the Romans spread Christianity, and since 

they spoke Latin the Bible was translated into that language. 
Teacher: Luther was not the first who translated the Bible or parts of it 

into German. Parts had been translated excellently, while other 

parts had been poorly done. And what was the result of such work ? 



RELIGION 



303 



Pupil: Nobody understood it. 

Teacher: Yes, so Luther translated so that any German could understand 
it. He translated it from the original because he knew both Hebrew 
and Greek. Between the backs of this book which I hold in my hand 
is the story of many centuries. Was the Bible always one book? 

Pupil: No, it was several separate books at first. 

Teacher: At the time of Christ they were not in one book. How were 
they kept ? 

Pupil: They were kept on rolls. 

Teacher: Yes. At that time book-making was not so highly developed as 
now. Writing was done on papyrus or on pergament. This paper 
was made from a plant, the stems were slit open and several stems 
laid, together and beaten and smoothened, and the writing was not 
done with a steel pen. What did they write with ? 

Pupil: They wrote with a real feather (quill) or with a brush. 

Teacher: Books were not bound up as they are now, but these parchments 
were rolled up on sticks and laid on a shelf. The title was written on 
the outside and a person wishing to read sought out the roll he wanted 
and read it. What does our school Bible cost ? 

Pupil: It costs from one to two marks. 

Teacher: Was the Bible always so cheap ? 

Pupil: No. 

Teacher: It used to be that a man would work his whole life in writing a 
Bible. He would work for years and years. They were written very 
carefully and illustrated and embellished, especially the initial letters. 
Sometimes a Bible would cost two thousand marks (Oh) or more. Why 
was it that Bibles cost so much then ? 

Pupil: They cost a great deal because there was so much work required 
in making them. 



CHAPTER XVI 
GERMAN 

German, as a subject of instruction in the Volksschule, in- 
cludes observation work, reading, literature, composition, gram- 
Scope of mar, spelling, and writing. In glancing over a Ger- 
the Subject j^^j^ elementary course of study it is usual to find all 
those different branches of language instruction grouped under 
the general term, German, although the hours for writing and 
observation instruction are given separately. Clear-cut dis- 
tinctions between reading and literature, literature and gram- 
mar, grammar and spelling, and the like are not made in the 
German schools as are sometimes made in ours. A German 
period usually affords some time to several of the subjects in- 
cluded in the conception — German instruction. One very 
rarely finds a spelHng lesson, a grammar lesson, or a reading 
lesson which takes up the whole of a period marked on the 
daily program as German. As a rule, part of the time is given 
to reading, part of the time to grammar or spelling, or the hour 
is broken up into some other such combination. 

General 

Regulations The General Regulations of 1872 lay the founda- 
?,«?Z^ ^**°" tion principles of German instruction for the Prus- 

cetmng ^ ^ 

German sian Volksschulen. 

The following course in German is for an eight- 
grade school. It is very similar to any course which one would 
find in a large city of Prussia. Courses of study for schools with 
fewer grades would contain the same material, but it would be 
divided a little differently. 

304 



GERMAN 305 

The instruction in German is to bring the children to a complete mastery 
of the oral and written use of the mother tongue. This end is to be brought 
about by the use of the primer, reading book, regular grammatical exercises 
and instruction, independent written exercises of the children, and by object 
lessons in the lower sections. 

I. The primer belongs to the eighth or lowest class. The children learn 
German script and print and are drilled in phonetic reading of short passages. 

The reader is taken up in the seventh class. Latin print is learned. 
Phonetic reading. Thoughtful reproduction of reading passages is prac- 
ticed. Exercises in spelling. 

The drill of the A B C's appears in the sixth class in addition to the 
reading and understanding of the passages assigned. In the fifth class 
regular exercises and the reproduction of narrative passages begin and 
are continued in the fourth class. In classes two and three this work is 
broadened by paraphrasing of selections, with special attention to organiza- 
tion of material. In the first class the work is further enlarged by instruc- 
tion concerning the different kinds of hterary composition and the different 
types of poetry. 

II. Grammatical exercises begin with the first year. From the seventh 
class dn, the grammatical work follows a regular order with the aid of a 
grammar or language book, which divides the material into year's work. 
From the seventh to third class the subject matter is assigned to five days 
for ten or fifteen minutes each, but in the two upper classes the grammar 
work is Hmited to three days a week, so that a whole hour can be given to it 
once a week. In this way it is possible to treat grammar in a connected 
manner in these two classes. So, also, syntax and the most important 
phenomena of word formation and change of meanings, which are neces- 
sary for an understanding of the language, will be able to find a more 
thorough presentation. In classes seven to one a dictation is given every 
Saturday. Finally, an exercise consisting of a few sentences from the 
grammar text is to be given the children in classes seven to two every day 
as home work. In the seventh and sixth classes this grammar exercise may 
be interchanged with copying some lines from the reader. The subject 
matter in grammar is divided among the different classes as follows : 

Class 8. Exercises in copying words and short sentences from the board 
or out of the primer ; writing down words and short sentences whose spell- 
ing corresponds to their sound ; dictation of words copied previously ; and 
sentences composed by the children themselves. 

X 



3o6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Class 7. Exercises in recognizing nouns, in the use of the article, in the 
formation of the singular and plural, in the use of capital letters, in the use 
of vowel modification in the plural and in the words with chen and lein; 
and in syllabication. 

Class 6. Exercises in the declension of nouns, alone and with adjectives 
and as found in sentences; numerous exercises in the use of the genitive 
and dative cases. Exercises in forming the three principal tenses of the 
verb in the active voice ; exercises in finding the subject and predicate of 
simple sentences; the use of the prepositions, mit, nach, bei, von, zu, aus, 
durch, fur, ohne, um, gegen. Exercises in writing long vowels and doubling 
the consonants, including "ck" and "tz"; in writing words in "ig" and 
"hch," with the final consonants d, t, b, g, ch, and k. Continued work in 
syllabication, and in punctuation of imperative, interrogative, and declara- 
tive sentences. 

Class 5. Exercises in the conjugation of the verb, including the im- 
perative form, the infinitive used as a noun, and the participles. The use 
of transitive and intransitive verbs with the dative and accusative cases. 
Exercises in the declension of nouns with adjectives ; numerals ; pronouns ; 
and nouns in the genitive case. Exercises in the use of prepositions : an, 
auf, hinter, in, neben, unter, iiber, vor, zwischen. Exercises in spelling words 
in which the consonants are doubled words with long vowels, also with 
final d and t, b and p, g, ch, and k, ng, and nk, and with the 5 sounds. 

Class 4. Exercises with prepositions ; declension of personal pronouns ; 
use of verbs with the genitive ; use of adjectives which govern the genitive 
or dative ; verbs and adjectives which require a preposition ; adverbs, and 
adverbial modifiers. 

Further exercises with the ^ sounds. Exercises in writing the short a 
and e, du and en, ai and ei, s, v, ph, and pf. Differentiation of Iz and Is, nz 
and ns, x, chs, cks and gs. Verbs in ieren. Easy exercises in the syntax 
of word formation. 

Class 3. Continued work with prepositions. Exercises in the use of 
verbs which require two cases (the accusative and dative, accusative and 
genitive, accusative and a preposition with its case) ; use of complements 
which are expressed by a preposition and its case, or by the noun form of 
the verb with zu; punctuation ; use of conjunctions in compound and complex 
sentences ; conversion of parts of the sentence into subordinate clauses and 
punctuation thereof; recognition of the parts of speech. 

Further exercises in spelling, including spelling of foreign words. Con- 
nected repetition and review of the forms and syntax. Word formation. 



GERMAN 307 

Class 2. More exercises in recognizing parts of speech. Exercises with 
verbs requiring two accusatives; changing parts of sentences into sub- 
ordinate clauses and vice versa ; picking out dependent clauses, and their 
punctuation, correct use of conjunctions, and relative pronouns. Spelling 
and word formation, and the building of word families. 

Class I. Continued, repeated, and broadened exercises in the whole 
field of grammar and spelling in connection with the correction of mistakes 
in compositions and dictations. Further work in word formation and 
discussion of transfer of meanings. 

III. Further independent written work aids in the language training of 
the children. This written work is for the most part exercises v/hich are 
prepared in class in a special notebook. The preparation consists of 
reading, observing, and talking about the subject. As for content, these 
exercises deal with questions of a real kind, which have been discussed in 
school or are connected in some way with the child's field of experience. 
They are to be kept within a moderate latitude. From the seventh class 
on half an hour a week is set aside for these written exercises. From the 
fourth class on they take the form of short compositions, which are written 
in the notebooks in class. Instead of this in the three upper classes, an 
essay is prepared at home every third week, in which a certain independence 
and individuality of expression is expected. 

IV. Language instruction in the first three years of school finds its 
supplementary work in object lessons. Beginning with the consideration 
of real objects, this instruction proceeds to the conception of figurative 
representation in order to draw conclusions in the observation of the simplest 
facts of nature, of the local surroundings, and of historical facts, which he 
near the child's intellectual horizon. 

Class 8. Observation of simple objects in the province of home and 
school fife. First attempts of the children to draw these objects. The 
schoolroom, the school yard, the school building. Study of pictures and 
learning of short poems. — Two hours. 

Class 7. Observation and talks about particular animals and plants. 
Simplest observations concerning the path of the sun, and the effects of 
hght and heat. Days and seasons. The months and the days of the 
week. Pictures and models. Short poems. 

Class 6. Further study of particular animals and plants. The street and 
its trade. Visiting of some buildings and monuments. Information concern- 
ing Emperor William the Great and Empress Augusta, Emperor Frederick 
and his consort, Emperor William II and Empress Augusta Victoria. 



308 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Outside the furtherance of language training, German instruction must 
aspire to furnish an introduction to the national literature, which is suitable 
to the pupil's point of view. In the upper section, national poems and 
ballads and poems of historical content, in so far as they have poetic value, 
are especially to be considered. In the first class, in addition to the most 
serious and difficult prose and poetical selections in the reader, longer poems 
are to be read. For this work the following are recommended: Wilhelm 
Tell, Die Jungfrau von Orleans, Minna von Barnhelm, Ernst von Schwaben, 
and Hermann und Dorothea. From the second class on, the children are 
to be acquainted with the most valuable characteristics and important facts 
of the lives of the most prominent poets and authors. In every class at 
least five poems which have been intensely studied are memorized. The 
children are trained in the declamation of these poems. Folk-songs, se- 
lected from the course of study for vocal music, are also to be learned. 
For the sake of language training it will be useful if in every class some short, 
valuable prose selections be learned. 

The teacher of German must, above aU else, direct the use of the school 
library, for it is desirable that the home reading be made to serve the pur- 
poses of the German instruction in school. It is also to be recommended 
that suggestions which are gained in the other branches of study be turned 
to account in choosing material for home reading. Thus it would be brought 
about that the need of reading will be increased, and the children will be 
sent out into life at the time of leaving school with a lasting, active, well- 
trained desire for reading. 

Writing : 

Class VII. The large and small German letters, the Arabic numerals, 
and punctuation marks. Copy-books with narrow double lines are used. 
Two hours. 

Class VI. The material in the first semester is the same as in Class 7 ; 
in addition, one hour a week in the second semester, the small letters of the 
Latin script. Copy-books with single lines are used for the German script 
and books with double lines for the Latin script. Two hours. 

Class V. One hour for German, and one hour for Latin script. 

Class IV. One hour each for both scripts, and copy-books with single 
lines only are used in both periods. 

Class III. Letters and business forms, etc. Copying of given funda- 
mental forms, and discussion of their content and structure. One hour. 



GERMAN 309 

Class II. Writing of more fundamental forms, copies and dictations. 
One hour. 

Class I. Independent preparation of letters and business forms. 

Note. — Such in general is the course of study in German. Each school 
is allowed to make a more detailed course of study. The Lehrplan is some- 
thing similar to what we have given above, though for all courses of in- 
struction. The detailed course is called the Stofverteilungsplan. This, as 
we have said, is made out by each school for itself, or it may be made by 
the authorities for the schools under their supervision. The detailed course 
of study outlines the work in each subject week by week for the whole year, 
and the number of topics, and the topics to be covered each week are deter- 
mined by this plan, so the teacher knows in just how much time each topic 
is to be treated. In the general course of study in Germany there is a wide 
range of choice allowed to schools or the school districts as to what topics 
shall or shall not be treated, but the teacher himself must follow closely 
the detailed course of study, which of course is built upon the general course 
of study. In most German schoolrooms one can find the detailed course of 
study, and by looking up the present month and week can know what selec- 
tion the children are reading, what sort of problems are being solved in 
arithmetic classes, and so on. In some cities, however, the teacher of each 
single class makes out the detailed course of study, receiving only a general 
plan for each subject as is given above for German. 

Generally a printed course of study contains a num- General 
ber of remarks dealing with general methods to be em- Relcom- ^ 
ployed in teaching the subject and aims that are to be oiended in 

^ •^. ^ ^ ... Courses of 

attamed. Some of the general prmciples laid down study for 
for the teaching of German in the elementary schools ^®"^^ 
are as follows : 

1. In every section the child is to be given freedom of expression, so 
far as the purity, correctness, and naturalness of the language permit. 

2. Regular exercises, which consciously connect the word with the 
thing, and the speech with the act, are recommended in the lower section, 
in order to increase the clearness and accuracy of the child's conceptions 
as well as his ability of expression. 

3. The study of words is to be carried on in all subjects, if the subject 
matter can gain clearness and life thereby. This study is to give the 



3IO PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

children knowledge of the origin and relationship of words, of the sensual 
background of many abstract words, of the origin of the figures of speech, 
and of the transfer of sounds and meanings. 

4. The most emphasis is laid upon the spoken language and not upon 
the written word. The written form shall grow naturally and unforced 
out of oral expression. 

5. A clear, distinct pronunciation is sought after most diligently 
during the whole school period. 

6. Foreign words are to be carefully avoided in all subjects of instruc- 
tion wherever the German language has understandable words of its own, 
with the exception of technical expressions in general use. 

Though it may be a pedagogical principle of the German ele- 
mentary teachers to allow the children freedom of expression in 
Freedom of recitation and in written work, it is a most uncommon 
Expression thing to find a teacher who puts this principle into 
practice. In oral recitation the teacher as a rule insists that 
the pupil use the words, very often the exact words and sen- 
tence structure, which the teacher has used in presenting the 
subject matter to the class. The child is frequently corrected 
during a recitation, so often that one comes to the conclusion 
that the teacher is reciting instead of the child. These correc- 
tions by no means concern themselves always with errors in 
grammar, with content, or with choice of words. Generally such 
corrections are due to a desire on the part of the teacher to hear 
his own words again, not trusting the child to form the thought 
in his own language. The teacher feels it will be safer to have 
the pupil memorize what has already been said than to risk 
that the child lose the fact in trying to express it in his own 
way. The memory method is so largely employed in elementary 
schools in Germany that an individuality of expression is as a 
rule badly dwarfed in the pupils. This is not only true of oral 
expression but also of written work. The compositions are pre- 
pared at home, but most of them are talked over at school 
in advance, so that originality in form and content is lacking, 



GERMAN 311 

because such form and content as these compositions have are 
given largely by the teacher. 

The principle involved in No. 2 is very generally practiced in 
schools which we have visited, finding its highest development 
in the Hilfsschulen and in the Arbeitsschulen, in which speech and 
action are most closely united. 

One of the best characteristics of German instruction in the 
elementary schools is that it is not Kmited to the periods exclu- 
sively set aside for German. Correct habits of oral 
speech and written expression are demanded just as of German 
vigorously in zoology, physics, and geography. An with other 
error in grammar is just as quickly corrected in physi- 
ology as in a literature lesson. This practice adds not only to 
the thoroughness of the work in German, but also serves to make 
the work in all other subjects more accurate and careful. 

The study of words, in regard to their figurative, literal, and 
transferred meanings, in regard to their origin and relationships, 
is carried on in all branches. In the language lessons words are 
borrowed from all subjects for the purpose of illustration. The 
majority of teachers, however, believe they can teach the mean- 
ing, derivation, and use of words better in their natural setting 
than they can by Hfting the words bodily out of the environment 
in which they are used and set down in an hour designated as 
German. The correlation of German with all the other subjects 
of instruction is most thoroughly carried out. 

The principle laid down in No. 4, that the most emphasis is 
laid upon oral form of expression, is one that goes hand in 
hand with the oral method of teaching. The children 

. . Oral Work 

have far less reading to do than American children and 
also much less writing, the chief form of expression being speech. 
The children talk much better than they write, very clearly for 
the reason that they have much greater opportunity for the oral 
mode of expression. In view of the future occupations of the 



312 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

larger part of pupils of Volksschulen, it is only right that the 
chief emphasis be laid upon speech rather than upon written 
work. The lower classes in Germany do very little reading, 
and still less writing. 

Yet in spite of the very great amount of time given to the 
oral form of expression in the schools, that is, to spoken high 
German, good high German is not used by the ordi- 
man in the nary classes at all. One would think, after all these 
^ ^^^ years of compulsory attendance at schools in which 
high German is used, that the people would gradually drop the 
dialects. Such, however, is not the case. Here in America the 
difference in the pronunciation which a boy uses in school and 
the one he uses at home or later in life is not great. In Germany, 
among the lower classes, the reverse is the case. 

One very excellent quality of the instruction in German ele- 
mentary schools is the distinctness of enunciation both on the 
part of the pupils and of the teacher. Mumbling in 

Enunciation . . . . , . . , 

recitation, reading, or m any form of speech is strictly 
forbidden. First of all, the children are required to speak dis- 
tinctly. In no class of all those which were visited did we ever 
hear children speaking indistinctly. They speak slowly and 
loudly. The only adverse criticism which can be made of the 
oral work is that sometimes the children speak too loudly, in 
fact, they sometimes scream. At all events, screaming is to be 
preferred to mumbling and stumbling over words. The reasons 
German children excel ours in this respect are that the teachers 
set them an example in plain, clear-cut speech, which we do not 
find in America, and that German teachers continually insist on 
plain, clear enunciation on the part of the children. In this 
particular we have much to learn from the Germans. 

Just at present there is a great movement in all of the schools 
of Germany to purify the language of foreign words. In past 
generations a great number of French words crept into the 



GERMAN 313 

language and found general acceptance and use in all classes of 
society. The present emperor wished to purify the language, 
and in the last two decades all the schools have been Foreign 
busy in substituting good German words for foreign Words 
words in common use. In the higher schools both the foreign 
and the German word are learned, although in speech and in 
writing the German word is preferred. In elementary schools 
one hears foreign words very seldom, and when they are used, 
it is always with the apology, ''If we may use a foreign word." 
Sometimes this eradication of foreign terms is carried too far, 
but in general the movement is a good one, for the German 
words, especially the compounds, are much more intelhgible to 
the children than a foreign word can ever be. For example 
Bahnsteig (railway platform) has been substituted for Perron. 
Any child knows what the elements of the word Bahnsteig mean, 
while Perron is entirely unknown to him. Particularly in gram- 
mar have German words displaced the Latin or French forms; 
Nennwort or Dingwort has been substituted for Suhstantiv, Zeit- 
wort or T atigkeitswort for Verh^ Bindewort for Konjunktion, Fur- 
wort for Pronom, and so on. This substitution of German words 
for foreign ones is taking place in all subjects of instruction and 
in all schools. Its meaning for the intensification of the national, 
linguistic feeling cannot be measured. 

7. The reading-book is the starting point of all German instruction from 
the second grade up to the sixth inclusive. In the seventh and eighth 
grades whole selections, which are capable of arousing the desire to read in 
the child, may be read, but in the choice of such material any work going 
beyond the intellectual development of the child is carefully to be avoided. 

8. Reading serves as an introduction into the national literature and 
shall aid in strengthening the child's moral, religious, and patriotic feel- 
ings and desires. 

9. Home reading is also influenced as far as possible. A part of the 
German period once a week may be given over to this work in schools 
which have a Ubrary. 



314 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

lo. It seems also advantageous that a number of books, which can 
be loaned from a public library, be recommended to those pupils about 
to leave school, in order to direct their reading in the right paths. 

We shall speak of the reading books in another place. Not a 
very large percentage of elementary schools have libraries of 
their own, although a number do, especially schools in large 
cities. German elementary school children do not read as much 
as our American pupils. In the first place, they have not the 
opportunity, and in the second place, the methods of instruction 
do not conduce to much reading. 

The majority of public libraries do not have children's depart- 
ments or reading rooms, and those libraries that do have such 
departments are not used much by the children. It 

Libraries . .-.,.,. 

IS a very common practice for city hbranes to have 
branches located in public school buildings for the use of the 
public, especially the children. Such branches are usually open 
only a few hours each day, and frequently not more than three 
or four days in each week. As far as our personal experience is 
concerned, we did not see one child of compulsory age in a public 
library, and in all we visited thirty-three libraries and reading 
rooms just for the purpose of seeing who visited them. Statis- 
tics show, however, that the children use these Hbraries to some 
extent, but actual observation tends to make us beheve that 
reading is not a passion with German children. 

There is a great sale of '^ penny-dreadfuls" among the children 
of the Volksschule. These stories are generally of the ''Nick 
Cheap Carter," ''Diamond Dick," "Frank Merriwell,'* 

Literature "Liberty Boys of '76" style, and owe their origin to 
our American nickel and dime novel industry. German teachers 
are striving to overcome the influence of this type of literature, 
by publishing cheap editions of good novels of war and adven- 
ture. Cooper's Leather Stocking Tales being of those in most 
common use. German authorities are not trying to forbid the 



GERMAN 315 

publication of cheap literature by law, but are attempting to 

destroy its sale by cultivating in the children a taste for a better 

kind of reading. 

******* 

Observation instruction taken in the sense in which the term 
is generally used in German schools is limited to the first three 
years of the school. Observation on the part of the observation 
child of its immediate environment is made the basis i^^stmction 
of instruction in oral language. "The child himself is to learn 
to observe objects and processes by the use of all his senses, to 
organize his observations, and to express himself with reference 
to that which he has observed. A clear pronunciation is to be 
practiced carefully in this work^ Some teachers hold that special 
hours should be set aside for observation instruction as a special 
subject, while others hold that observation instruction should 
be made the beginning of every subject of the curriculum, and 
that all instruction should in substance be observational. In 
the majority of the schools we visited, observation instruction 
(Anschauungsunterricht) as a special subject was essentially a 
part of German rather than of any other subject. The prin- 
ciple of learning by observation is employed, of course, in the 
teaching of all subjects. 

Just in this connection, however, we have seen the poorest 
teaching which came to our notice. Quite a number of teachers 
of science fail to make the most of the child's desire to observe 
and handle the objects under discussion and to tell his own 
reactions thereto. Frequently we have seen teachers bring speci- 
mens of animals to a class and never ask the children what they 
saw, but merely give the children those facts which seemed im- 
portant. On asking teachers why the children were not allowed 
to talk about the objects being studied and to relate their own 
experiences, we have invariably gotten the reply, "That would 
destroy discipline." 



3i6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

It is part and parcel of the purpose of the whole elementary 
system of education in Germany to destroy individuality and 
initiative among the lower classes. The ruHng classes 
Destruction have decided, one might say, what a boy or girl of the 
of^dividu- lower classes is supposed to see and observe even in 
the simplest processes of learning. They know that 
if initiative and individuality are killed in the children, these 
qualities cannot Hve in them when they become men and women. 
And to uphold the system of government now in vogue, it is 
absolutely necessary that the masses have neither individuality 
nor initiative, but rather observe what they are supposed to 
observe, think what they are supposed to think, and act as they 
are supposed to act. 

As a rule, there is no set list of topics to be used as the basis 
of observation instruction. One usually hears the beginners 
Subject talking about the home, the school, the school yard, or 
Matter ^j^g garden, some topic which the children can actually 

observe, and with which they are intimately acquainted. A 
great deal of use is made of pictures to illustrate the seasons of 
the year, the country, the city, landscapes, harvest-time, the 
family, and activities for which the child always feels vital 
interest. 

Pictures are only used, however, in the majority of cases 

when the actual observation is not possible or the experience 

of the child does not suffice. In many instances 

Methods 

teachers begin the work in oral language by telling 
the children fairy stories, and illustrating them by means 
of pictures. Almost every German city or village has its 
legends and fairy stories, and these are widely used by the 
teachers at first to awaken the child's desire to tell what he has 
experienced. 

In many schools observation instruction consisted merely in 
describing what had been seen. In the more progressive schools 



GERMAN 317 

the children were allowed to use other means of expression, 
such as drawing, cutting, building with sticks, and modeling with 
clay or plasticine. It was the exception, however, to find such 
work. 

The chief criticisms of the observation instruction in the ele- 
mentary classes which we visited are (a) that the sense of sight 
is chiefly employed in forming conceptions of the external world 
of the child, (b) that speech is the only form of expression em- 
ployed, (c) that there is no principle laid down for the selection 
of topics to be taught, and {d) generally too many objects are 
observed. 

In another chapter "undifferentiated instruction" has been 
spoken of as being adopted in the first year of some schools. It 
deals chiefly with organization of subject matter, the 
formal subjects of instruction not appearing during tion instmc- 
the first months of work. In school systems into undMeren- 
which ''undifferentiated instruction" has been intro- tiated in- 
duced, the methods employed are largely observational 
in character. In fact, ''undifferentiated instruction" is an 
attempt to bring about the realization of a "work-school" for 
beginners instead of a mere "learning-school," and therein to 
realize the ideal of modern observation instruction — that is, to 
learn through observation and expression. 

Reading, writing, and arithmetic, as separate subjects, take 
practically all the time in the beginning class of the typical 
German school, while two or three hours a week are devoted to 
observation instruction, which is usually treated as a part of the 
oral language work. There exists naturally a wrong relation 
between the knowledge of things and the three R's, which con- 
tains a danger for the mental development of the child. This 
danger arises when the transmission of new ideas and con- 
cepts takes place through the written and spoken word rather 
than through observation and objective experience. Instruction 



3i8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

which consists solely of words and pictures leads to verbalism 
and juggling of words, without bringing about real intellectual 
training. 

Some of the educational reformers are demanding that the 

usual course of instruction and methods employed in the first 

year of school be entirely changed in order to do away 

Position of ^jth the false relationship which exists between the 

the German . . . 

Reformers tune given to the traditional subjects and the time 
given to observation work. To accompHsh this end 
observation instruction is to be made the basis of all the work 
of the school, and in the first year of school it is to be the only 
subject, — an ''undifferentiated observational instruction," out 
of which the ordinary subjects shall arise during the course of 
the first year or at the beginning of the second. 

This idea is by no means a new one in Germany, for it was 
put forward in the past by von Rochow, Denzel, Knauss, Brauti- 
gam, and many others. The only question is with regard to the 
length of such work. In nearly all the city systems which we 
visited there was some sort of a preparatory observation and 
language course, covering periods var3ang from a few weeks to 
half a year. 

We were told that there were many difficulties confronting 
the continuation of "undifferentiated observation instruction" 
throughout the whole first year. Chief among these difficulties 
were that the parents wanted the children to read as early as 
possible, that the courses of study demanded that children read 
and write before the end of the first year, and that it was difficult 
to get material to fill up a whole year in this manner. In spite 
of these objections this general type of instruction based on 
observation is rapidly gaining ground. In Posen a preparatory 
course in observation and language has been approved for the 
bi-Hngual schools of that city, and the requirements in formal 
reading and writing have been lessened. Leipzig has experi- 



GERMAN 319 

mental classes in which the ''undifferentiated instruction" is 
extended over the entire beginning year. 

As a rule, observation instruction as a special sub- o^serva- 

. tion in Re- 

ject is merely one phase of German, but as a prmciple, lation to 

observation is used in all subjects to a greater or less sublects 

degree. 

We are inserting here stenographic reports of two lessons given 

in Hannover in January, 1914. The first one was in the VII. 

Class, or the beginning class, and the second in the V. Class or 

third year. 

Class VII s. Hannover. 37 Girls. German. Observational 

Instruction 

(The teacher explained to me that the class discipline was made as easy 
as possible in order to win the confidence of the pupils, who, coming chiefly 
from poorer homes, were very shy and difficult to cause to talk. As has 
been remarked in another place, the discipline is so strict, or rather the fear 
of the teacher is so great in some classes, that many children are almost 
afraid to recite. This was not the case in this class, and it is by no means 
true of all classes.) 

Teacher: Tell me how a snow man is made. 

Pupil: We roll together two big balls of snow; out of one we make the 
feet and legs, and of the other the body and arms. Then we put a small 
ball on top for a head, put a cane in one hand, and borrow a hat from 
father to go on his head. The eyes we make of coal and we put a pipe 
in his mouth. 
Teacher: How do we make a snow man in school? 
Pupil: We make him out of clay. 

Teacher: Who wiU tell me how we make the snow man out of clay? 
Pupil: We took some white clay and made the legs and feet and body. 
Then we rolled the head out of some more white clay, then we took 
some pink clay for the nose and a strip of red clay for the lips. Then 
we made the cane out of brown clay. Then we made some long strips 
out of yellow clay and — 
Teacher: What were they for? 

Pupil: They were the hair. Then we took some brown clay — a square 
piece and a little round and about this high. 



320 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: What did you do with that ? 

Pupil: That was his hat. For the eyes we used small pieces of coal. 

Teacher: What else did we make ? 

Pupil: A sled. 

Teacher: Tell me how to make a sled. 

Pupil: First we make two long — 

Teacher: What do you call these long, straight pieces underneath a sled? 

Pupil: Runners. 

Teacher: What do we do first? 

Pupil : First we make two runners and then put a board on top where we sit. 

Teacher : How can we represent snow ? 

Pupil: We can represent snow with small papers or salt. 

Teacher: Tell me how snow comes. 

Pupil: At first there are a great many drops of water away up in the sky. 
They go out where it is very cold and then turn into very small needles 
of ice. They become very much afraid, and one of them says to his 
fellows, "Give me your hand," so they all form star-like groups and 
fly down to earth and light up Lieschen's coat. When the little girl 
sees it, she cries, "Oh, what a pretty snowflake !" 

Teacher: What animals do not suffer from cold and hunger in the winter 
when there is snow ? 

Pupil: Domestic animals. 

Teacher: Name some domestic animals. 

Pupil: The dog, cat, cow, horse, and chickens are domestic animals. 

Teacher: Why are they called domestic animals? 

Pupil: They are domestic animals because they live near the house. 

Teacher: Why don't domestic animals suffer from hunger in the winter? 

Pupil: Because they are fed by the people. 

Teacher : Do any animals suffer from cold and hunger when it is winter ? 

Pupil: Yes, the migrating birds {Zugvogel)} 

Teacher: Do they? 

Another Pupil: No, because they fly away where it is warm, but the birds 
which stay through the winter suffer from hunger. 

Teacher : Why ? 

Pupil : They suffer because the ground is covered with snow and they can 
get no worms or seeds. 

* (The little girl who used the word "Zugvogel " had pronounced it as if there 
were a " t " between the " g " and " v, " and at this point the teacher went back 
to take up the mistake.) 



GERMAN 321 

Teacher : Who takes care of these birds when it is so cold ? 

Pupil: Some people throw crumbs and seeds on the snow, and the little 
birds come and eat them. 

Pupil: And sometimes people throw out bones with a little meat left on 
them and the birds pick the meat off. 

Teacher: From what word does *'Zug" come? 

Pupil: "Zug" comes from Ziehen. 

Teacher: Better perhaps from "zogen.^' How do you spell "Zug"? 

Pupils: (spelling phonetically together) "Z-u-g." 

Teacher: Is the *'g" hard or soft? (No reply.) The teacher then shows 
the children how the two "g's" are pronounced, and they are drilled 
on the pronunciation. This g sound is called a guttural. (The Ger- 
man word is Gaumenstosser , which means that the breath is forced 
against the roof of the mouth in making the sound. The word is per- 
fectly clear to German children, for both parts of the compound are 
very common words.) How do you make the sound "t"? 

Pupil: You put the tongue against the upper teeth and the breath forces 
it down, then the sound is ''t." 

Teacher: What do you call that kind of a sound? 

Pupil: That is called a dental {Zungenstosser — a sound which bumps 
into the tongue) because the breath strikes the tongue and knocks it 
down to the bottom of the mouth. 

Teacher: How is the "b" sound made? 

Pupil: We hold the lips tight together and then puff the breath out be- 
tween them suddenly. 

Teacher: Now let us go back to the birds. Sometimes people build Httle 
houses especially for birds where they may come to eat. How many 
ever saw such a house ? 

Pupil: There is one on the blackboard. 

Pupil: Out in the woods the other day I saw a house on a tree. There 
was a little hole in the box and a stick fastened on the side of the box. 

Teacher: What do you suppose Bertha saw? 

Pupil: That was a little bird house, where the birds sleep. 

Teacher: Yes, that was the house, but not a house especially built for feed- 
ing the birds. 
(The lesson was not quite finished. Some little girls had been excused 

in order to get the "milk breakfast" which was furnished free by the city 

to those children who come from homes which cannot afford to buy milk.) 



32 2 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Class V a. Hannover. Observation Instruction. 54 Girls 

(This lesson is to be read in connection with the arithmetic lesson on page 

374. Work was based on a walk taken by the pupils with their teacher.) 

Teacher: How were the dead buried here a long time ago? Here in 
Hannover, I mean. 

Pupil: The dead were laid in a hollow stone grave together with arrows, 
spears, knives, axes, then over the top was put a stone slab and on top 
of that earth and grass, so it looked like a giant's grave. 

Teacher: What are these graves called? 

Pupil: They are called Huhnergrahen. 

Teacher: They are called stone houses. There are quite a number of 
them in the Liineburger heath. Why do we think this kind of grave 
the oldest ? 

Pupil: We think they are the oldest because they are made of stone and 
the things in them are aU made of stone, the arms, and other instru- 
ments. 

Teacher: What is this age called ? 

Pupil: It is called the Stone Age. 

Teacher: What was the next age called? 

Pupil: The next age was the Bronze Age. 

Teacher: Why was it called the Bronze Age? 

Pupil: Because the weapons and tools were made of bronze. And the 
dead were burned and the ashes were put in bronze urns, along with 
bronze bracelets, chains, ear-rings, hairpins. 

Teacher: What else was there generally in or near the urn? 

Pupil: Sometimes there was a tear-cup, for the tears of the relatives. 

Teacher: Tell me the story of the little cup {KrUglein). 

Pupil: Once upon a time there was a mother who had a little child. One 
day the child became very ill and in spite of all the mother could do, 
the child finally died. The mother was not to be comforted, but wept 
and wept every day. She did not know how to live without the child. 
One evening as she was sitting alone crying, the child appeared to her 
and said, ''Mother, you must not weep for me any more. The cup 
for your tears is now full and if you shed another one, the cup will over- 
flow and I shall never have any peace again." Then the child vanished. 
The mother stopped crying at once, for she did not wish her child to 
be unhappy. 

Teacher: What do we call this age ? 



GERMAN 323 

Pupil: Bronze Age. 

Teacher: No, give a complete sentence. 

Pupil: We call this the Bronze Age. 

Teacher: Where did Hannover get its name? 

Pupil: Two fishermen one time wanted a place to build a hut so that 
when the Leine flooded there would be no danger to them. So they 
built a hut here at what is now called Hannover, but they called it 
Hohen Ufer, which has been changed into Hannover. 

Teacher: The Leine floods every year. When? 

Pupil: The Leine floods in the Spring. 

Teacher: Why does a river flood in the Spring? 

Pupil: The snow on the mountains melts and floods the rivulets, these 
all come together and fill the brooks and then these flood, and finally 
the river is so full that the banks no longer can hold the water, and it 
flows out on to the meadows. 

Teacher: We have floods here every year. Is it a good thing ? 

Pupil: It is good because it brings fertilizing soil and moisture to the 
meadows, but the water must not remain too long. 

Teacher : What fields must not be flooded ? 

Pupil: The corn and wheat fields must not be flooded, because if they are 
too wet the grain will not grow. 

Teacher: Who was the first prince of Hannover? 

Pupil: The first prince of Hannover was Henry the Lion. 

Teacher: Why was he called Henry the Lion. Let us read the story. 

(The story was read by the children, each one reading a paragraph aloud 
to the class.) 

Henry came to Hannover first in 1163. He built a castle. Where 

was it ? 
Pupil: It was in Burgstrasse. 
Teacher: Besides the castle he built a wall about the city. The wall had 

thirty-five towers. Name some of them. 
Piipil: The Beguinen Tower (notes lacking here). 
Teacher: No, not all of these were in the city. Henry built a number of 

towers in the forests outside the city in order to protect the wall, as 

the Lister Turm and the Burner Turm. What was the highest and 

finest tower of all ? 
Pupil: The Beguinen Tower. (This tower was drawn on the blackboard.) 
Teacher: Where is it? 



324 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: It is am Eohen Ufer. 

Teacher: Henry had also a castle on the left bank of the Leine. It was 

called Burg Lauenrode and it was built in 1 2 1 5 and was meant as a fort 

to protect the city. He put a castellan in the castle to take care of it. 

Later, however, the castellan thought he could force the citizens of 

Hannover to do his will, but the people objected and destroyed the 

castle in 1371. The Jewish Temple stands there now. What Burg 

did the Duke build? 
Pupil: He built Burg Lauenrode. 
Teacher: How long did it stand? 
Pupil: It stood until 137 1. 
Teacher: Why was it destroyed? (None of the children knew, so the 

teacher repeated the remarks above.) 
Pupil: How was it destroyed ? 
Teacher: The Burgers of Hannover surrounded the fort and hurled heavy 

rocks against it and took the castellan prisoner and killed him. What 

churches were here then ? 
Pupil: The Marktkirche was built in 1250 (drawing on the board). It 

had the highest tower of all, 95 meters. 
Teacher: What is the tower covered with? 
Pupil: It is covered with copper. 

Teacher: What happened to the tower of the church a long time ago? 
Pupil: In the middle ages the top of the tower fell off. 
Teacher: Who lived there? 
Pupil: A watchman lived there. His duty was to blow a horn at the 

hours and watch for fires throughout the city. 
(The hour ended at this point, but the lesson was continued in the following 

period.) 

READING 

The day of the primer is rapidly passing in Germany. Some 
schools still use it. The blackboard is now in most common 
Reading in use, although one finds still a great many charts and 
First Class reading frames or boxes. One finds almost every 
known method in use in Prussia except that it is forbidden to 
use the alphabet or spelling method. One finds the phonic 



GERMAN 325 

method, the word-script method, the analytic, the synthetic, 
and the normal-word methods. Phonetics are used um'versally. 
The names of the letters are rarely ever learned in the first year. 

Very often the phonic method is begun only after a number 
of words or short sentences have been learned. Then the study 
of some of the more common and important consonants The Phonic 
is begun and gradually they are combined with vowels Method 
and new words are built up, or the ones already learned are spelled 
phonetically. Many words are developed from the children's 
activities or from the description of pictures. When a Httle 
vocabulary is gained, reading of sentences is begun. 

Some schools use the normal word method. They begin with 
learning thirty or more words as wholes and then they are 
analyzed. The sounds and signs acquired in this way 
are made the basis of acquiring new words. Some- ^he Normal 
times the teacher spends a whole day in learning a Method 
** normal word," while other teachers spend three or 
four days on the same word, discussing it in all the situations in 
which the child is acquainted with it. 

The script method and the word and sentence methods are 
taught in much the same way as in America. The question as to 
whether reading and writing should be taught together is still 
a debated one. The more progressive teachers postpone writing 
until after the child has learned to read. Many schools do not 
undertake any reading at all until the second half of the first 
year, devoting all of their time to a composite or undifferen- 
tiated instruction by which the child accustoms himself to the 
school and learns to talk freely and without hesitation. 

The German child has a rather hard time when it comes to 
writing. He must learn to write both German and Latin script. 
He generally learns the beginning of the German 
script in the first year and the Latin script in the " ^ 
second year. 



326 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

German script is exceedingly difficult on account of the many 
sharp angles and shading lines which are necessary. The first 
writing is usually on slates or with pen and ink. Very few 
schools use pencils. Of course, all schools use the blackboard, 
but only to a limited extent. 

The teachers begin first with the very simplest letters, which 
consist of straight lines, and as the children acquire these move- 
ments, the work advances to its more difficult stages. We were 
somewhat surprised to see the large number of slates that are 
still in use. Each child has a slate and a sponge which is attached 
to his seat. The system is at the least not very sanitary. If 
the children write with ink, and this work is always begun very 
early, a very stiff, sharp pen is used. The stub pen or ball- 
pointed pen is first used in the higher classes. 

Practically all of the writing is given as class instruction. 
The children are kept very close together and as the teacher 
counts or beats time, they write. ''Up," "down," "up." 

At each word the child makes a mark until the whole process 
is thoroughly learned. Writing instruction is kept up two 
hours a week in the lower section, and thereafter an hour a week. 

The models from which the children write are put on the board 
by the teacher. Copy books are not allowed. The copy may 
be only letters, or a sentence, in which case it is the traditional 
proverb. 

The results obtained by teachers in Germany are simply 
marvelous as far as writing is concerned. One rarely sees a 
blot of any kind. The work is invariably neat and clean. In 
the upper grades some of the handwriting books look like 
steel engraving. 

The reading book is the basis of all German instruction in the 
Volksschulen. Readers are usually adopted by coun- 
ties, but sometimes also by provinces, and in most 
cases very large cities use a different reader from surround- 



GERMAN 327 

ing towns though they may be in the same county. Naturally 
the number of books in a series varies with the kinds of schools 
in which they are used. 

Ordinarily three books compose the reading series, one 
volume each for the lower, middle, and upper sections. The 
first grade has no book at all or a primer. The first book 
has usually two hundred or more pages, the second about four 
hundred, and the third about six hundred. Illustrations are 
few and inferior. 

The general character of the selections is the same in all readers. 
We quote the general subjects in Hirt's Lesebuch for the Province 
of Brandenburg — Book II. 

A. Pictures from Life. 

1. The father's house and the home. 

2. Our duties. 

3. Occupational sketches. 

B. Man and God. 

C. Changes of Seasons. 

D. Geographical Selections. 

1. The home. 

2. The Fatherland. 

E. Popular tales and myths. 

F. From the history of our people. 

The general subjects in Book I of the same series are as 
follows : 

A. Pictures from life. 

1. Parents and children. 

2. At home and abroad. 

3. Healthy body — healthy soul. 

4. Human duty and honor. 

5. The world of commerce and labor. 

6. Social economy. 

7. War and peace. 

8. At sea. 



328 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

B. God and Eternity. 

1. God. 

2. In death. 

3. Guilt and punishment. 

4. Sketches from the life of the church. 

C. From Nature. 

1. Thoughtful observation of nature. 

2. General natural science. 

D. Sketches from geography. ^ 

1. Home and the Fatherland. 

2. From foreign lands. 

3. From our colonies. 

4. Astronomy. 

E. Historical sketches. 

From the above outlines it can be readily seen that almost 
every phase of human activity is touched upon. The reader, 
with its wide source of selection, can be used in correlation with 
almost every subject in school. The general content of the 
readers is supposed to meet the needs and conditions of the 
respective communities. The historical and legendary selec- 
tion, as well as those relating to geography and industry, refer 
as far as possible to the child's immediate environment. As far 
as possible the authors whose works are chosen for use in the 
readers represent the very best there is in German Kterature. 
This ideal is held to, even with regard to the geographical and 
scientific portions of the texts. 

Reading, particularly oral reading, is rather inferior. The 

children seldom read with expression or individuaHty. One 

child's reading sounds almost hke that of every one else 

Reading . . ^ ^, ^ ■, r 

m the same room. There are several good features m 
the work which concern the technique of good reading. The 
children always read loud enough to be heard — and very often 
too loud. No matter where one sits in a room; no matter 
whether one even tries to Hsten, every syllable is audible. Quite 



GERMAN 329 

a number of the children seem to shout. The enunciation is 
always excellent. There is no mumbling or swallowing of final 
syllables. Every ending is brought out sharply and clearly. 
If a word is pronounced at all, it is pronounced loudly and 
clearly enough to be heard by every one, and if there is an error 
in pronunciation, the teacher knows immediately what it is. 

Reading is practiced in all the different subjects, not alone in 
the reading hour. As far as our observation went the reading 
in the history and geography classes was better than in the Ger- 
man classes. However, in general there is no attention paid to 
the rate of reading, which is invariably too fast. Expression in 
reading is an unknown quantity. 

Silent reading is not as common as in America, because of the 
difference in methods of instruction. The German child does 
not have to read in order to acquire his material for reproduc- 
tion — his source is his teacher. 

In many ways it is not so important that the children become 
particularly good oral readers on account of the lack of need for 
oral reading in after Hfe. The same is true of silent reading to a 
less extent. The German lower classes are not a reading popu- 
lation, as we have said heretofore. 

The teacher always helps the children in preparation for a 
reading lesson in several ways. First, he reads the lesson to the 
children with an attempt to get the spirit of the The Read- 
selection over to the children. He also aids them in ^°s Lesson 
understanding any technical or linguistic difficulties, or any 
new word which may arise in the new lesson. The procedure in 
this respect varies, of course, with the nature and difficulty of the 
selection. In the majority of lessons a great deal of attention 
is given to the setting, to the spirit {Stimmung) of the lesson, 
particularly in the treatment of poems and patriotic selections. 

One of the best features of the reading is the oral reproduc- 
tion of the passages which have been treated in class. For 



330 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

example, if the reading has dealt with the Battle of Sedan, a 
child is given an opportunity to tell the story. He does this very 
Oral Repro- largely in the words and language of the book. In fact 
duction Y^Q frequently commits a great deal of it to memory. 
Teachers believe that in this way his vocabulary of good words 
and expressions is materially increased. 

German teachers and school children are particularly fond of 

poetry. In addition to a great number of songs which must be 

learned for the singing hour, the child usually has to 

Poctrv 

commit to memory during his school course about 
fifty poems of varying length. Naturally the memorization of 
the poem is about the last step in its treatment. The method is 
usually as follows. The teacher talks a little about the content 
of the poem, its history, the author, and its general setting. 
Then without a book the teacher reads the poem, and usually 
very well. Sometimes he reads it again. A child then tries to 
repeat the first stanza as a whole, then another child tries, and 
perhaps a third. Then the whole class tries with the teacher's 
help. Then the second is learned, until the poem is finished. 
The next day some one tries again to repeat the whole poem. 
Repetition of the poem is kept up at continually lengthening 
intervals throughout the year and the following years. Once 
having learned the poem in this way the children, I am told, 
rarely forget it, even many years later in life. It is astounding 
to the visitor to see how many poems the children know, and it 
is still more astounding when one thinks of the large number of 
songs, sacred and secular, which they must learn, as well as 
the great amount of memoriter material required in religion. 
National patriotic poems, poems of nature, and ballads are the 
most popular. Many children commit to memory Schiller's 
Lied von der Glocke and Wilhelm Tell as well as many longer 
passages from Goethe. 

There are always many selections in the reader chosen for 



GERMAN 331 

their classical literary value. The number of longer selections 
is usually very small, but these are very thoroughly 

. Literature 

handled, somewhat in the same way as ^'The Sailor of 
Hallig," which is given in this chapter. The longer poems are 
reserved for the last two years of school. The teachers seem 
particularly well prepared to present literary German. More 
genuine enthusiasm was exhibited by the teachers and pupils in 
the treatment of Wilhelm Tell, Die Jungfrau von Orleans, and 
Minna von Barnhelm than in any other subject in school, unless 
we except history and singing. We are convinced, however, 
that the treatment of certain poems is not original with the 
majority of teachers. The standard poems used in the Volks- 
schule are found in thousands of model lesson books which are 
to be had at every bookshop. Every step, even the answers 
of the children, is given in these prepared lessons, and many 
teachers follow the models slavishly. This, however, is true 
of almost every topic in every subject in the whole curriculum. 

Grammar is taught in practically every grade in school in an 
informal way. No special hours are set aside for it, except 
occasionally in the upper classes. Ordinarily only a 
few minutes of each hour are given over to formal 
grammar discussion. Grammar, or, still better, correct gram- 
matical usage, is insisted upon and taught in every grade and in 
every subject. Bad German is absolutely forbidden at all times. 
** Every lesson a German Lesson" is the law. We have already 
indicated the course of study in grammar. The work is brief 
and thorough. Grammatical usage rather than grammatical 
theory is the strong point in this field. 

Selections from the reader, compositions of the children, and 
oral speech in all classes are made the basis for selec- subject 
tion of subject matter. The difficulties in German Matter 
are attacked and explained wherever they are found. If a boy 



332 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

makes a mistake in the use of a plural in arithmetic, history, or 
science, the error is corrected in that class where it is needed 
and in the situation where it occurs. Compositions in all classes, 
of course, especially in German^ are the best basis for grammatical 
instruction. Dictations, while used also for spelling and punc- 
tuation, serve as more formal subject matter for grammar. 
Rules are developed in the class from the examples studied. 
Texts are used in some schools. These are issued in a series, 
usually one book or pamphlet for each class above the lowest 
one. They are for drill and are in the hands of the pupils. They 
are never made the starting point in the instruction ; they con- 
tain no rules. The subject matter is merely to test what the 
children have learned in connection with their other grammar 
work. Many teachers hold these books to be unnecessary, and 
say that enough drill to establish correct usage can be secured in 
other ways. Analysis by diagram did not come to our notice 
at all. Oral analysis is universal, but hair-splitting distinctions 
are entirely avoided. For example, such a thing as classifying 
subordinate conjunctions into all their many classes is unheard 
of. The larger elements in the sentence are picked out. Recog- 
nition of nouns, adjectives, prepositions, verbs, adverbs, con- 
junctions and pronouns, declension, and conjugation of words 
take up most of the time. The form is rarely separated from 
its use in a sentence. 

Spelling and punctuation begin at the very first and continue 
in every grade, and in all classes. Spelling lists are always 
Orthog- made up from the other work in school. Detached 
raphy spelHng lessons do not occur. An attempt is made to 

group words which are similar in sound and in spelling. Special 
hours for spelling do not appear in the curriculum. It is a part 
of the German hour. Since German is a more nearly phonetic 
language than ours, the German child does not have to spend a 
great amount of time on spelling. Almost all words are spelled 



GERMAN 333 

just as they sound. This is one great saving of time in the Ger- 
man schools. What the child makes up in spelHng he loses in 
the difficulties brought about by an inflected language. Every 
noun, adjective and verb is modifiable. The children must learn 
to spell all of these modified forms, which is no easy task. 

Compound words and formation of words, as well as word 
groups on the same stem and words of changed meanings, re- 
quire a great deal of time, although there are not many compound , 
difficulties involved. A long word in German is much Words 
easier for a German child than a long word in English for an 
American child. The German word is made up of simple parts 
which are perfectly clear to every child ; in EngHsh these parts 
are usually from Latin and Greek elements which are clear to 
but few. 

Dictations are the basis of much of the work in orthography. 
The teacher reads a familiar, or unfamiHar, passage to the chil- 
dren. They are expected to write it correctly with ^. . 

. . 1 r rr^i Dictation 

respect to spelling, punctuation, and form. These are 
corrected in class and discussed. Only the most frequent errors 
are dwelt on at any length. The children give the correct form 
if possible, while the teacher helps only in case of necessity. 
The dictation books are collected and corrected from time to 
time by the teacher. 

One can see the mechanizing effect of German methods in the 
composition work better than in any other. Written work in 
the German class is made up of oral composition, dictation, 
short themes of a paragraph or more, and compositions or essays. 
All of these exercises except the last are carried on throughout 
the school. 

The aims of written work in the Volksschule are to bring order 
and system into the child's thought, "to accustom 
the child to intellectual work and particularly to inde- 
pendent activity/' and to ground his knowledge in various fields 



334 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

of learning. ''These are the pedagogical aims. The practical 
aim is to enable the pupil to present his thoughts with clearness 
and linguistic accuracy." The child possibly achieves all these 
aims except that of independent thinking. The teacher does all 
of the thinking, the organizing, and judging. The child merely 
writes it down. 

In the very lowest grades the first type of language composi- 
tion is oral. The child is taught to tell a story which has been 
told to him, to relate his experiences at home, to tell about his 
pets. In the middle section of ^ the school the child has a daily 
written exercise in German or in some other subject. This exer- 
cise (Niederschrift) is usually mere writing down a summariza- 
tion of a lesson. The summarization, of course, has been made 
in class or at least has been discussed so that there is very little 
independent ability called for. However, as the children go 
into higher classes the content of these written exercises becomes 
more and more original. One notes all the way through a very 
striking resemblance in content and form of expression in any 
given set of exercises. 

The more formal compositions are required once every two 
weeks. The subject matter of these compositions, although they 
are supposed to be independent work, is discussed in class. The 
teacher and children determine topic sentences covering the 
introduction, the development or treatment of the subject, and 
the conclusion. The compositions printed in this chapter il- 
lustrate the results obtained. The result is uniform in thought, 
sentence structure, style, and form. Often the sentences are 
identical. These compositions are put in little exercise books, 
which the teacher carefully corrects and returns. The children 
must rewrite the paragraphs in which errors occur. 

No other activity in the German schools shows so clearly the 
conscious attempt to cast all the mental activity of the children 
in the same mold. It can be condemned or approved — all 



GERMAN 335 

depending on the point of view. Some may ask, "To what 
purpose shall these children of the lower classes be trained to 
write independent, original composition?" These people answer 
their own question and say that these children are never called 
on to write anything that's original and independent, so why 
learn it? 

One or two other features of the written work in the school are 
worthy of mention. Letter writing, both personal and business 
correspondence, receives a great deal of attention. The children 
acquire great facility and a good formal style, which all know 
who receive German letters. The forms of expression are some- 
what stilted, but they are always clear and excellent German. 
The children also learn to fill out all kinds of business forms, 
receipts, postal order blanks, checks, and the like. This would 
be an excellent thing for all of our schools and even our colleges, 
for no one ever heard of a group of fifty people in an American 
school being able to fill out any kind of a blank correctly. 

The teacher of German never tries to correct all the errors 
in the written work. He picks out the high spots and drills on 
them and then passes on to the next most important 

rr.1 11 .1 r • Corrections 

pomt. ine teachers have strict orders not to fritter 
away their energy in reading and re-reading compositions. 
This is also an excellent point for some of our overconscientious 
but unwise teachers of English. 

The work in German as a whole is not satisfactory from our 
point of view. It is entirely too formal, too cut-and-dried, too 
deadening. It produces poor writers, poor readers, 

, . -r. . 1 ^ Conclusion 

but good memonzers. But since the German govern- 
ment does not want to develop writers and readers out of its 
lower classes, the school cannot be said to fail in this respect. 
It would be an interesting experiment to see what the children 
in the manufacturing sections would write and put into their 
compositions if given perfect freedom. On the other hand, the 



336 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

German work in its oral phases, aside from its lack of originality, 
has many features of charm. The interest of the children in 
telHng fairy tales, and myths, in reciting poems and reciting the 
deeds of great Germans is truly delightful. 

Lesson in German Literature. Sixth Class 
The Sailor of Hallig. Allmers 

1. "Kapitdn, ich bitte euch, lasst mich fort. 

lasset mich frei, sonst lauf mich von Bord, 
ich muss heim, muss heim nach der Hallig. 
Schon sind vergangen drei ganze Jahr', 
dass ich stets zu Schiff, dass ich dort nicht war, 
auf der Hallig, der lieben Hallig." 

2. ''Nein, Jasper, nein, das sag' ich dir: 
noch diese Reise machst du mit mir. 
dann darfst du gehn nach der Hallig. 
Doch sage mir, Jasper, was willst du dort? 
Es ist so oder, armseliger Ort, 

die kleine, die einsame Hallig." 

3. "Ach, mein Kapitan, dort ist's wohl gut. 
und an keinem Ort wird mir so zu Mut. 
so wohl als auf der Hallig ; 

und mein Weib hat nur mich manch' traurige Nacht ; 
hab' so lang' nicht gesehen, wenn mein Kind mir lacht, 
und Hof und Haus auf der Hallig." 

4. " So hore denn Jasper, was ich dir sag' : 
es ist gekommen ein boser Tag. 

ein boser Tag fiir die Hallig. 
Eine Sturmflut war wie nie vorher, 
und das Meer, das wildaufwogende Meer 
hoch ging es iiber die Hallig. 

5. " Doch sollst du nicht hin, vorbei ist die Not, 
dein Weib ist tot, und dein Kind ist tot, 

z 



GERMAN 337 

ertrunken beide auf der Hallig. 
Auch die Schafe und Lammer sind fortespiilt, 
auch dein Haus ist fort, dein Wurt zerwiihlt ; 
was wolltest du tun auf der Hallig ? " 

6. " Ach Gott, Kapitan, ist das geschehen? 
Alles soil ich nicht wiedersehen, 
was lieb mir war auf der Hallig ? 
Und ihr fragt mich noch, was ich dort will tun? 
Will sterben und im Grabe ruhn 
auf der Hallig, der lieben Hallig." 

The poem was read through first by the teacher. 
Teacher: A sailor from Hallig begs his captain for permission to return 

home. Repeat what I have just said. 
Pupil: A sailor from Hallig begs his captain for permission to return home. 
Teacher: Explain the expressions, captain and sailor. 
Pupil: The captain is the commander of the ship, the sailors do the rough 

work on the ship ; they keep the ship clean, cast the anchor and take 

it up again, loosen the sails and then fasten them up. 
Teacher: Why is the sailor, of whom the poem tells, called the sailor of 

Hallig? 
Pupil: His home was on one of the Hallig Islands. 
Teacher: Show me the Hallig Islands. Point to one of the larger groups. 

(Pupil points to them on a map.) 
Pupil: Those are the North Friesian Islands. 
Teacher: Tell me their position. 

Pupil: They lie in the North Sea on the west coast of Schleswig. 
Teacher: Why do sailors fear the North Sea ? 

Pupil: Very heavy and dangerous storms often break over the North Sea. 
Teacher: What did I say at the first of the hour? 

Pupil: A sailor from Plallig begs his captain for permission to return home. 
Teacher: What questions come to mind? 
Pupils: Why does the sailor want to go home? Will the captain grant 

his request ? 
Teacher: The first stanza of the poem answers the first question. Read it 

through quietly. (The children read the first stanza to themselves.) 

Answer very briefly. 
Pupil: The sailor is homesick. 



338 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: Why do you think that ? 

Pupil: He loves his island home and was not there for three years. All 

this time he was on the ship. 
Teacher: But with all his homesickness he will remain a brave sailor. 

How do we know that? 
Pupil: He has not fled secretly, but asks his captain to let him go. 
Teacher: How do we know that he can no longer control his longing for 

home? 
Pupil: He says to the captain, *'If you do not let me go, I shall run away, 

I must go home to Hallig.'* 
Teacher: Did the captain refuse this request? Read the second stanza. 

(Children read the second stanza silently.) Why don't we have to 

use the word sailor from now on ? 
Pupil: Because we know the sailor's name is Jasper, 
Teacher: What reply does the captain make to Jasper's request? 
Pupil: The captain tells Jasper that he must make the trip with him and 

that he cannot go to Hallig. 
Teacher: The captain does not appear to understand Jasper's longing. 

What does he ask ? 
Pupil: What do you want there ? Hallig is a desolate, poor place, a small, 

lonesome island. 
Teacher: That is the way a person would talk who does not love Hallig. 

But what do we know already from Jasper? 
Pupil: Hallig is very dear to Jasper because it is his home. 
Teacher: Can there not be a more special reason why he feels such a long- 
ing for Hallig ? 
Pupil: Perhaps he is married, or has a sweetheart there, or his mother 

lives there still. 
Teacher: Now read the third stanza. What is the reason? 
Pupil: Jasper has his wife, child, and home on Hallig. 
Teacher: What desire draws him to his wife and child? 
Pupil: His wife is anxious about him and can often not sleep for worrying 

about him. She fears that some misfortune may have overtaken him. 

How she would rejoice if she saw him living and well again. His child 

smiled at him so sweetly the last time he was at home, and that smile 

he has not seen for a long time. 
Teacher: In general what does Jasper think of Hallig? 
Pupil: No place in the world makes him feel so well as Hallig. It pleases 

him better than all the rest of the world. 



GERMAN 339 

Teacher: Summarize the content of the first three stanzas under a head- 
ing (or in one sentence) . 

Pupil: Jasper would like to go home to Hallig in order to see his wife and 
chHd. 

Teacher : The captain has given no good reason why he will not let Jasper 
go. What question remains to be answered ? 

Pupil: Why will the captain not let Jasper go? 

Teacher: Read the next two stanzas. Answer very briefly. 

Pupil: The captain wishes to spare Jasper great pain. 

Teacher: Relate what happened one day. 

Pupil: A bad day came at Hallig. A tidal wave came such as had never 
been seen before. The sea rolled high over the island. Jasper's wife 
and child were drowned. The sheep and lambs were all washed away, 
the house was destroyed, and its foundation ruined. 

Teacher: What would the captain surely have done if some one had told 
him that Jasper's wife and child were in need ? 

Pupil: He would have let him go home. 

Teacher: But now? 

Pupil: Now it wouldn't do any good for him to go home. The need is 
past, he cannot help his family any more and what he would see on the 
island would only make him sad. 

Teacher: So that captain meant well. What is the last question ? 

Pupil: Does Jasper remain on board ship? 

Teacher: Read the last stanza. Answer, giving the heading covering 
stanza four to six. 

Pupil: Jasper still wishes to go to Haling in order to die and be buried there. 

Teacher: Repeat the two headings. 

Pupil: Jasper would Hke to go home to Hallig in order to see his wife and 
child. Jasper still wishes to go to Hallig in order to be buried there. 

Teacher: Read the poem aloud. (The poem is read aloud.) 

Teacher: How does Jasper feel toward his island home? 

Pupil: He loves it. 

Teacher: Why is that hard for a stranger to understand? 

Pupil: Because Hallig is a small, desolate island. There are no mountains, 
no forests. One cannot take long walks. Other human beings are 
seldom seen. What one needs must be brought from a great distance. 
People are always in danger of being swept away by the water. 

Teacher: And still the saying is true of Jasper. Home is always beau- 
tiful. What may have made him love Hallig in his childhood? 



340 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: His parents and brothers and sisters lived there. He watched the 
sheep in the fields ; he learned early in life to steer a boat and it gave 
him pleasure to be tossed about by the waves. He hunted for mussels 
on the beach and caught fish. It was frightful yet beautiful when the 
storm raged and the high waves beat over the island. 

Teacher: What can we understand from that? 

Pupil: We can understand why Jasper loves his home. 

Teacher: How does Jasper feel toward his wife and child? 

Pupil: He loves his wife and child. He is sad because his wife is anxious 
about him. He would like very much to play with his child and he 
would be glad to see the child smile at him. 

Teacher : Why didn't he remain at home with them ? 

Pupil: He must work as a sailor, in order to earn money. The family 
cannot live from stock raising and from fishing. They need money in 
order to buy bread, salt, potatoes, clothes, wood, and coal. 

Teacher : How does Jasper feel when he must remain away from his family 
so long ? 

Pupil: He becomes very homesick and wishes to return to Hallig. 

Teacher: Why doesn't he show this longing for a long time? 

Pupil: Because he holds it for his duty to remain with his captain. The 
captain has always been very kind to him and has given him the chance 
to earn something. 

Teacher: How does he behave when the longing for home becomes over- 
powering ? 

Pupil: He begs the captain to let him go to Hallig ; only in case his wish 
is not granted will he run away. 

Teacher: How great his love for Hallig and for his family is we see in the 
conclusion of the poem. 

Pupil: He wishes to die at Hallig, where he passed his childhood and where 
his wife and child have made him happy. 

Teacher: How does the captain show his feeling toward the sailor? 

Pupil: The captain has learned what has happened at Hallig. He knows 
what love Jasper holds for his wife and child. At first he says nothing 
to him in order not to make him unhappy. He wishes to break the sad 
news to him later. When Jasper comes to him with his request, he 
refuses it ; but when he can keep silent no longer, he prepares Jasper 
for the ill tidings. A bad day has come for Hallig and a tidal wave 
swept over the island. When Jasper hears that, he suspects some- 
thing had happened and then comes the news. Your wife is dead, 



GERMAN 341 

your child is dead, sheep and lambs are swept away, and your house is 

destroyed. 
Teacher: Why does he wish to keep Jasper with him? 
Pupil: He hopes that the work on the ship and the trip over the ocean 

will drive away his sad thoughts. 

Composition. First Class. Steglitz. Girls 

What Drives Men to Foreign Lands? 

1. Introduction : Praise of homeland. 

2. Treatment : Causes for leaving home are : 
{a) Greed and desire for gold. 

{b) Curiosity and pleasure, 
(c) Bad conscience and sense of freedom. 
{d) Desire for knowledge and discovery. 
{e) Christian love and business occupations. 

3. Conclusion : Never forget that you are a German. 

"Smoke at home is clearer than sunshine abroad." So runs the prov- 
erb, but still there are every year many people who leave their home land. 
Many reasons lead people to emigrate, partly honorable rea- 
sons, partly dishonest. But the clever man knows that things 
go best for him at home and says to himself: "My home, what can be 
better!" What the different reasons are that take men to foreign lands 
my essay will portray. 

One often reads in the newspapers sjold may be found in Alaska and 
California, and diamonds in Africa. Greed and lust for gold drive men 
into unknown lands. They believe that here they will find their fortune. 
In their thoughts these poor people have very much deceived themselves, 
for, in place of good fortune, they find misery. 

On our beautifully and comfortably equipped ocean steamers we find 
many people full of curiosity and desire for pleasure. The rich have heard 
the beauties of other lands praised, and filled with curiosity, they must 
see the boasted countries. Those in search of pleasure wish to be freed 
from the regular everyday life and they pass this time in other lands. 
But not only these people take trips, but also the sick. This we saw in 
the case of Emperor Frederick, who visited the Riviera on account of his 
throat trouble. 

If someone has committed a crime at home, then he thinks he is best 



342 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

protected from his earthly judge in a foreign country. It does not suit 
other men to obey longer the laws of the fatherland. They go abroad and 
believe that here they can enjoy freedom. 

But it is not always these dishonorable reasons which cause men to go 
into those regions. Among other reasons are the desire for knowledge and 
the spirit of discovery. Professor Koch passed the best years of his life in 
the tropical regions of Africa in order to establish the causes of the sleeping 
sickness. Christopher Columbus went forth in order to be able to prove 
that the earth is a sphere. 

Out of sympathy for the heathen, missionaries go to foreign countries 
in order to preach Christianity to them. They expose themselves to many 
privations through the practice of Christian love. Business occupations 
take many men abroad. Great companies which establish harbors in for- 
eign lands or build railroads send their workmen there. So these causes 
belong to the honorable ones. 

We have now heard all that which causes men to leave their homeland. 
If these people remain abroad a long time and succeed, very often they 
deny their German heritage. In order to combat this thought the poem, 
German Advice, says, "Du, deutsches Kind, sei tapfer, treu, und wahr." 

Handwriting = 1 1 _ . , 

Content =,) Very good. 

Composition. First Class Girls. Steglitz 

What Drives Men to Foreign Lands? 
Outline. 

Introduction : Praise of homeland. 

Treatment : Causes for leaving the homeland are : 

{a) Greed and desire for gold. 

(&) Curiosity and pleasure. 

(c) Bad conscience and sense of freedom. 

{d) Desire for knowledge and discovery. 

(e) Christian love and business. 
Conclusion : Never forget that you are a German. 

The home is the most beautiful place in all the world. There we pass 

our childhood and are surrounded by love. In the home are those who^ 

_ ^. are dearest to us and by whom we are loved. No language 

Execution , , ^ , ^^ , i f 

sounds so sweet as the mother tongue. Nowhere do the 

church bells ring so beautifully as in the homeland, and the places where 



GERMAN 343 

we played as children remain very dear to us. We should love our home 
above all else. He who does not love his home is ungrateful and of poor 
spirit. 

Still unfortunately there are many men who leave their homes. There 
are many causes why they leave their homes. Many think they will 
find their fortunes in foreign lands and emigrate. Saddest of all is it when 
greed and lust for gold are the causes for their deserting the homeland. 
How bitterly are these men often deceived. The land of gold proves to 
be a barren region where they often die of privation. Besides they must 
live together with men of all sorts, and not infrequently, someone, who 
really has found some gold, will be slain for the sake of his earnings. In 
many cases the seekers for gold return as wretched men to their homes. 
True is the proverb, "Remain at home and support yourself honestly." 

Other men go to foreign lands for sake of pleasure, and in order to learn 
about other lands and peoples. These are mostly rich people. It is very 
fine to travel. Our ocean steamers sail in all directions and by means of 
the railways we can travel a great distance in a short time. Also for the 
sake of health many people take long journeys. They hope to be well and 
strong again in foreign countries, as was not possible for them at home. 
Our Emperor Frederick went to San Remo in order to find benefit in the 
warm climate for his serious illness. 

A bad conscience is another reason for leaving the homeland. Criminals 
hope to escape justice in foreign countries. However, they are seized 
and are turned over to an earthly judge. In their breasts evil men carry 
an even more severe judge, a bad conscience, which will not let them be at 
peace even in the most distant lands. The desire for fuller freedom drives 
many a man across the ocean into the primeval forests to lead an unrestricted 
existence. In their lonesomeness such men no doubt often think of their 
dear homes. 

Many men do their fatherland great service and honor when a desire 
for knowledge and discovery takes them to foreign lands. Thus Columbus 
discovered America, Wissmann explored Africa and Sven Hedin crossed 
the mysterious Tibet. Many brave men sought to reach the north pole 
and many a one lost his life in the ice as a sacrifice to the spirit of discovery. 
The homeland can be proud of such heroes. 

Every year many missionaries go to India, Africa, and Australia in 
order to preach the Gospel to the heathen. There they build schools, teach 
and baptize the natives. Not infrequently the missionaries are exposed to 
danger when the natives are particularly wild and close their heart to the 



344 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Christian life. As missionaries leave their homes in order to serve Chris- 
tianity, so also great scholars, like Robert Koch and others, go into the 
jungles to study diseases. They benefit thereby not only their fatherland 
but also all mankind. Business takes the seamen to foreign lands, likewise 
colonists, who carry their native civilization to the colonies. They build 
railroads and harbors that the country may prosper on account of com- 
merce. 

As men are taken to foreign lands, so they are driven back home again. 
They do not always find everything as they once left it. He who remains 
in foreign countries must never forget how much he is indebted to his 
homeland. He must never forget that he is a German ; he must love the 
German language above everything else, and maintain German manners 
and customs. 

Handwriting = 2 1 , . , 

Content =,} Very good. 

Corrections 
These are omitted. 

Composition. Steglitz. First Class. Girls 
Outline. 

I. Introduction : Praise of the homeland. 
II. Treatment : The causes for leaving the homeland are : 

(a) Greed and lust for gold. 

(b) Curiosity and pleasure. 

(c) Bad conscience and sense of freedom. 

{d) Desire for knowledge and spirit of discovery. 
{e) Christian love and business occupations. 
III. Conclusion : Never forget that you are a German. 

I. Many poets praise in their poems the beauties of the homeland. 
The homeland with its wonderful pine forests rejoices the heart of every 
man. And still there are many men, who go out into the wide world, to 
earn their daily bread better than they can at home. Frequently they 
deceive themselves badly, and are obliged to find a miserable death in a 
foreign land. My essay, which follows, will tell what drives men to foreign 
lands. 

II. a. People often read in the newspapers that gold is to be found 
in California and Alaska. They go there to make their fortune. But this 
joy does not last long. Most of them return to their homes as poor, 



GERMAN 345 

wretched people. The little gold that they already had they spend on 
their journey. 

II. b. On the stately ocean steamers we can see every day people 
who leave home in order to see beauties which are over there. Curiosity 
attracts them. Likewise pleasure contributes to causing many to travel 
abroad. Also many illnesses require trips to foreign shores. So it occurred 
to our dear Emperor Frederick who sought a cure for his throat on the 
Italian coast. 

II. c. In the large city there are many dishonest men who have em- 
bezzled lots of money. In order to protect themselves from their enemies, 
they journey to a foreign country. To be sure they can thus escape their 
earthly judge, but not their heavenly judge. Many men do not wish to 
obey the laws. They leave their homeland and think over there to act 
and do as they please. 

II. d. Desire for knowledge and the spirit of discovery are often the 
causes which take men into foreign lands. So it was with Columbus, who 
wished to show his fellow men that the earth was a sphere, and not a disc 
as they thought, and therefore he left his beloved country. Likewise other 
men go to America in order to tell us something about that country and its 
inhabitants. 

II. e. Many men, called missionaries, go out into the distant lands 
in order to preach the Gospel to the heathen. Thereby they expose them- 
selves to many dangers. For in Australia there live so-called cannibals, 
who take pleasure in killing a man and eating his flesh. 

III. When we are abroad, we must not forget that we are German 
children. We are also not to forget our mother tongue. Also we must 
not ridicule anything German. We must always cherish that beautiful 
lyric poem which reads : "Du deutsches Kind, sei tapfer, treu, und wahr" 

Handwriting = 2—3 
Content =2—3 

Grammar and Orthography Lesson. Girls. Class II 

Teacher: Please write these sentences as dictation. (Reading.) 

1 . Auf Re gen folgt Sonnenschein . 

2. Eine Schwalbe macht keinen Sommer. 

3. Willst du nicht das Ldmmlein hUten? 

4. Goldene Abendsomie, wie bist du so schon. 

5. Wer hat die schonsten Schafchen? 



346 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: Who has no mistakes (after spelling sentences out and giving 
the correct punctuation) ? (Several — 5 — children raised their 
hands. Writes the following sentence on the board.) ^^Die gute 
Grossmutter erzdhlt dem kinde das Mdrchen. What is the predicate ? 

Pupil: The predicate is " erzdhlt dem Kinde das Mdrchen.''^ 

Teacher: Who tells the story? 

Pupil: The grandmother. 

Teacher : What is that ? 

Pupil: That is the subject. 

Teacher: Was does the grandmother tell? 

Pupil: Das Mdrchen. 

Teacher: That is a complement and is always in the fourth case. Went, 
to whom, is always in the third case. What are the attributes? 

Pupil: Gut is an attribute to grandmother. 

Teacher: What part do we ask first? 

Pupil: Who or what -mi]! 2i Yerh7 The answer is the subject. 

Teacher : Are the subject and predicate sufficient ? 

Pupil: No, but they are the most important. 

Teacher: How can you tell the subject? 

Pupil: It is always the answer to the question ^^Wer tut or Was tut das? " 

Teacher: Wen ? or was ? is always the fourth case if in the predicate. Wem 
is in the third case. The attribute is used to modify. Give an ex- 
ample. 

Pupil: Good modifies grandmother. 

Teacher: What kind of word is modified in this case? 

Pupil: The noun is modified. 

Teacher: What kind of words are attributes? 

Pupil: Adjectives are attributes. 

Teacher: How do we recognize an adjective? 

Pupil: It answers the question, Wie ist das Ding? 

Teacher : How do you tell the predicate ? 

Pupil: It answers the question, "What does the subject do or how is the 
subject ? " 

Teacher : How do you recognize the complements ? 

Pupil: The answer to wen? or was? is always in the fourth case. The 
answer to wem is always in the third case. 

Teacher: How do you recognize an adjective? 

Pupil: It answers the question "ivie?'* 

Teacher: Give some examples. 



GERMAN 347 

Pupil: Wie ist der Vater? Wie ist das Bild? 

Teacher: How do you write adjectives, large or small? 

Pupil: Adjectives are written with small letters except when they begin 
a sentence. 

Teacher: What question do you ask with verbs? 

Pupil: What does the subject do ? 

Teacher: How are verbs written? 

Pupil: Verbs are written small. 

Teacher: What words are written large? 

Pupil: Nouns are written large. 

Teacher: What words denote gender? 

Pupil: The gender words are (articles) der, die, das. 

Teacher: How do you change a verb to a noun ? 

Pupil: Any verb can be used as a noun if we use das with it. 

Teacher: What other kinds of words can be made into nouns? 

Pupil: Any kind of a word can be used as a noun. 

Teacher : How do you write nouns ? 

Pupil: Nouns are written with capital letters. 

Teacher: What kind of a word is used before a noun? 

Pupil: We use adjectives and articles before nouns. 

Teacher: Name the indefinite articles. 

Pupil: The indefinite articles are ein, eine, ein. 

Teacher : What changes occur in the articles ? 

Pupil: The endings are changed. One can decline them. 

Teacher: Decline der Vater, die Mutter, das Kittd. 

Pupil: der Vater die Mutter das Kind 

des Vaters der Mutter des Kind 

dem Vater der Mutter dent Kinde 

den Vater die Mutter das Kind 

Teacher: Give me the plural of the same words. 

Pupil: die Vater die Mutter die Kinder 

der Vater der Mutter der Kinder 

den Vdtern den Muttern den Kindern 

die Vater die Mutter die Kinder 

Teacher: What articles have no plural? 

Pupil: Ein, eine, ein have no plural. 

Teacher: What are some of the prepositions with the dative (third) case? 

Pupil: Some prepositions with the third case are: mitj nach, bei, samt, 
seit, von, zu, ausser, gegenilher. 



348 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: Give me an example with mit. 

Pupil: Ich schneide mit dem Messer. 

Teacher: Give some prepositions which govern the fourth case. 

Pupil: Some prepositions which govern the accusative are : durch, fiir, 
um, ohne, gegen, wider. 

Teacher: Give an example with durch. 

Pupil: Die Soldaten zogen durch die Stadt. 

Teacher: Give some prepositions which may be used with either the third 
or fourth case. 

Pupil: They are hinter, auf, neben, unter, vor, zwischen, an, in, iiber. 

Teacher: What have we studied to-day? 

Pupil: We have studied adjectives, verbs, nouns, articles and preposi- 
tions. 

Teacher: Will you recite the poem, " Morgengruss.^' 

(We stopped taking notes at this point.) 



CHAPTER XVII 
ARITHMETIC 

Arithmetic, according to German educators, has two pur- 
poses. The first is to teach the children to solve problems as 
they occur in actual life, and the second to give 
them practice m clear thmking and correct speech. 
The first aim is the practical one, the second the formal one. 
To quote from the Berlin course of study : ^ 

Arithmetic in all sections of the school is to make clear the principles 
of the method employed and to lay down in hard and fast rules the knowledge 
so acquired. Only in this way will the pupils succeed in independently 
drawing and presenting the general truths previously developed. Accuracy 
in the use of established principles is to be gained by extensive practice. 
Repetition and review serve this purpose. Daily reviews are indispensable 
for this subject. 

The following outline gives a general idea of the contents 
of the course in Arithmetic in the Volksschule: 

Class 8. Numbers from 1-20. 

Classy. Numbers from i-ioo; fractions in connection Course of 
with the multiplication and division tables; separation of a Study 
whole into its parts and the combination of the parts into a whole ; relations 
of value, Mark and Pfennig. Preparation for the rule of three. Four hours. 

Class 6. Numbers from i-iooo ; fractions ; common fractions and 
mixed numbers on the basis of the small numbers of the multiplication 
table; tables of measure, liter, hektoliter, meter, kilometer, centimeter, 
millimeter, gram, kilogram ; rule of three. Four hours. 

Class 4. Work with compound denominate numbers in tens, hundreds, 
etc. ; fractions in connection with the work in denominate numbers in tens, 
hundreds, etc. ; decimal fractions ; rule of three. Four hours. 

^ Lehrplan der Berliner Gemeindeschulen, p. 64. 
349 



350 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 






Class 3. Common and decimal fractions; proportion; calculation of 
simple and direct relations or terms ; business arithmetic. Four hours. 

Class 2. Problems in proportion dealing with indirect and compound 
terms; percentage; profit and loss; net weights and tare; partnership; 
averages; problems of transportation, railway, post, telegraph and tele- 
phone. Four hours. 

Class I. Problems of the household, city and state budget, such as state, 
city and church taxes ; problems in hail, fire and life insurance ; problems 
dealing with money, bills of exchange, deeds, bonds, stocks, checks and the 
like ; square root ; equations of the first degree with one unknown quantity. 
Four hours. (This year's course for boys.) 

Class I. Problems dealing with housekeeping; rent, furnishing the 
house, heat and light, clothing, provisions, budget ; problems dealing with 
depositing money in savings banks, with mortgages, and with notes, deeds, 
etc. ; problems deahng with fire, life, annuity and capital insurance ; prob- 
lems in the imperial insurance regulations; foreign money and exchange: 
checks ; mensuration. Four hours. (For girls.) 

The arithmetic in the first three years of the school limits 

itself to work with numbers under one thousand. In the first 

year numbers greater than ten are rarely ever treated 

inthe^^ 2,t all. All the time of this year is given over to 

Lower Sec- learninsf the numbers from one to ten in all their com- 

tions ° 

binations. The children are not to count mechan- 
ically or to deal solely with abstract numbers, but they gain 
the number concepts through the use of natural objects, such 
as balls, blocks, sticks, coins, tables, hands, children, and the 
like. Counting-frames are also used very largely. 

After the child has learned to count simple objects, he is 
drilled in mechanical counting of abstract numbers, but this 
^^ „ is only done after the number concept has been 

The Num- -^ ^ 

berCon- thoroughly estabhshed. Before the child is allowed 
"^ ^ to count, one, two, three, and so on, he is taught the 

position and composition of each number. He is required to un- 
derstand that three is composed of two and one, and of one and two, 
and of three one^s. So it is with all the numbers. The pupils are 



ARITHMETIC 351 

materially aided in this work by the counting-frames. The 
pupils are taught to arrange the numbers on the frame always in 
the same way at first, in order that they may have a good mental 
picture of four, seven, or whatever the number may be. If they 
are learning the number four, they count four objects ; they do 
four things; they play four games; they see four boys, and 
finally on the counting-frame, four balls, or counters, are placed 
in a definite position, so that the child when thinking of the 
number will immediately see the number as a whole and can 
see it equally well in its parts. Sometimes these number-pic- 
tures are arranged on cards, while at other times they may be 
placed on blocks. The children are taught to see a number 
as a whole and then in its parts. For example, the number 6 
at any one given time is conceived as being made up of 5 plus i, 
4 plus 2, 3 plus 3. The following diagrams show how the numbers 
are often arranged on the frames to aid the pupil in gaining these 
mental pictures. 

After each number has been thoroughly learned the children 
are allowed to make it on their slates and to write the processes 
which they have already done orally. 

Counting is usually done with cubes or balls. 

Teacher: What is 7 made up of? 
Pupils: 7 is 6 and i. 

7 is 5 and 2. Examples of 

, First Year 

7 ;s 4 and 3. Work. Ad- 

7 is 2 and 5. dition and 

7 is I and 6. Subtraction 
7 is 2 and 5, and so on. 

This shows how carefully each number is drilled, backwards 
and forwards, almost every day in the year. Of course, prac- 
tical problems within the child's understanding are used. Num- 
bers in this year are rarely separated into more than two parts, 
as 6 is 5 and i, rather than 6 is 2 and 2 and 2. When this has 



352 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

been thoroughly learned, the children add in the following 
manner ; 

1 and I are 2. 

2 and I are 3. 

3 and I are 4. 

Then the subtraction is tried in the same way : 

10 less I is 9. 

9 less I is 8. 

8 less I is 7, and so on. 

When the addend and subtrahend one are thoroughly drilled, 
two and three are used in the same way. Later addition and 
subtraction in regular order is dropped and problems like the 
following are given : 

8 and i equal ? 

6 less I equals ? 

7 and 2 equal ? 
• 5 less 3 equals ? 

Thus far only two numbers have been added or subtracted. 
After addition and subtraction have been thoroughly drilled, 
multiplication of numbers with the product under is begun, or 
the addition combinations up to twenty are taken up, usually 
the latter processes first. The first step is to add. 

10 and I 

10 and 2 

to 
ID and 10. 

After that the combinations like 11, 10, and i are learned. 

11 and I 

to 
19 and I 



ARITHMETIC 353 

It goes without saying that the combinations are always 
made with concrete objects first. As soon as possible abstract 
drill work is commenced. The next step is subtraction : 

20 less I Then 10 and 2 

19 less I 10 and 9 

to 14 and I 

II less I 19 less i 

and finally 10 and 5 

10 and 8 
17 less I 

At last the addend to a larger number than ten is increased 
as in II and 2, 15 and 3, 17 and 2,11 and g, and then subtraction 
of 20 less 7, 19 less 7, 18 less 5, and so on. These combinations 
become absolutely automatic, and one never finds children in 
the second year who hesitate at immediate recognition of these 
combinations. Teachers have told me that the entire success 
of the work in arithmetic depends on speed and accuracy in 
the fundamental addition and subtraction facts of the first year 
and to some extent those of the second. The next step is mixed 
problems in addition and subtraction as: 14 less 3, 17 and 5, 
19 less 8, etc. This goes over to 

20 equals 19 and ? 18 and ? equal 19. 

16 equals 13 and ? and 13 and ? equal 20. 
15 equals 12 and ? 11 and ? equal 19. 

These are frequently made the basis of real problems from 
within the child's experience. 

When the point has been reached, the teacher goes back to 
9 and ? equal 10, 7 and ? equal 10, 6 and ? equal 10, and 16 and 
? equal 20, etc. 

Then comes 

9 and 3 equal ? to which the answer is 9 and 3 equal 12. 

9 and ? equal 10. 9 and i equal 10. 

10 and ? equal 12. 10 and 2 equal 12. 

9 and 3 equal ? 9 and 3 equal 12. 

2 A 



354 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

In additions going over ten the number is completed to ten 
and the remainder of the addend is added to lo. Subtraction 
goes in the same way : 13 less 6 equals 7. 13 less 3 equals 10. 
10 less 3 equals 7. Hence, 13 less 6 equals 7. This method is 
continued until there is no further necessity. One finds the same 
plan in the higher classes in subtracting numbers like 150 from 
875 ; as : 875 less 100 equals 775 ; 775 less 50 equals 725. 

A table like the following is used for drill in some schools ! 



II is 10 


9 


8 


7 


6 


54321 plus ? 


12 is 10 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5432 plus ? 


13 is 10 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 4 3 plus ? 


14 is 10 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 4 plus ? 


15 is 10 


9 


8 


7 


6 


5 plus ? 


16 is 10 


9 


8 


7 


6 


plus ? 


17 is 10 


9 


8 


7] 


plus ? 


18 is 10 


9 


8] 


plus ? 




19 is 10 


91 


plus 


i ? 






20 is 10 


plus ? 









Very little of the work is written. One or two children work 
at the board each day. 
The work begins in multiplication with 

1 and I equal ? 2 times i equals ? 

2 and 2 equal ? 2 times 2 equals ? 

Muitipiica- Then how many shoes are 2 pairs? How many feet 
**^° have 3, 4, 5, 10 sparrows? How many marks are 

2 three-mark pieces? 4 three-mark pieces? etc. How many 
legs have 3 horses? 5 horses? One post-card costs 5 pfennigs. 
How much do 2, 3, 4, 5 cards cost? One egg costs 6 pfennigs. 
How much do i, 2, 3 eggs cost? 

After this work comes division. How many one-pfennig 
pieces can you get if you have a 2 pfennig piece? How many 
pairs of stockings can you obtain from 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 stockings? 
How often is 2 contained in 2, 4, 6, S, 10, 16, 20? 



ARITHMETIC 355 

Then with charts fractions are begun, but only in simple form. 
What is the half of two? The half of ten? The third of 6? The 
fourth part of 8? What is the sixth part of 12 ? Of 18? What 
is the fifth part of 20, 10, 15? Then the exercises and prob- 
lems as follows : 



2 divided by 2 ; 12 divided by 2 

18 divided by 3 ; 12 divided by 3 

16 divided by 4 ; 8 divided by 4 

15 divided by 5 ; 10 divided by 5 

6 divided by 6 ; 12 divided by 6 



etc. 
etc. 
etc. 
etc. 
etc. 



A dozen apples are divided among 2, 4, 6 children. How many 
apples does each child receive? 

Such in general is the work of the first year. Numbers beyond 
twenty are seldom touched upon. When one considers that 
four hours each week for forty weeks are given to the numbers 
under twenty, and that a half of the work is drill and prac- 
tically all oral, there is small wonder that the children know 
their number-work thoroughly. 

The number space from i to 100 is treated during this year. 
The relation between tens and units comes first. 10 units equal 
I ten ; 50 units equal 5 tens ; etc. i ten equals The Second 
10 units; 4 tens equal 40 units. Then come prob- ^®" 
lems in addition. 4 tens and 2 units equal 42 units. Further 
along we find problems like 94 equals 9 tens and 4 units; 40 
and 8 equal ? ; 28 equals ? ; 28 equals 20 and 8 ; 59 less 9 
equals ? ; 74 less 4 equals ? Counting frames are used for this 
work until the pupils are ready to go over to abstract problems. 
Practical problems are also introduced. The next step is to 
name the multiple of ten above 25, 19, 66, 24, 37, and the like. 
Immediately after that, to add enough to the following numbers 
to make the next higher multiple of tens, as, 25 and 5 equal 30; 
^^ and ? equal 40; and then the children will name the next 
higher multiple of ten and say how much less the given number 



356 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

is, as, 40 less 6 equals ? 30 less 3 equals ?. A great many such 
problems are solved and the children acquire facility therein. 
One can easily recognize the value of these and the following 
exercises for oral arithmetic. 

The next step is the addition of one-place numbers to any 
number of two figures : 

21 and 2 equal 43 and 2 equal T)^ and 2 equal 65 and 2 equal 

31 and 2 equal 53 and 2 equal 98 and 2 equal 75 and 2 equal 

41 and 2 equal 63 and 2 equal 68 and 2 equal 35 and 2 equal 

71 and 2 equal 93 and 2 equal 48 and 2 equal 55 and 2 equal 

When this is learned, they count by one-place numbers up and 
down to 100. For example, 21 and 2 equal 23 ; 23 and 2 equal 
25 ; 25 and 2 equal 27, as far as 100, and then backwards. The 
addends and subtrahends as large as 9 are used in this way. 
Literally thousands of such problems are given during this year. 
All the numbers up to 9 are next treated as follows : 

4 and 4 equal 8, counting up and down by 4's. i times 4 is 4 and up to 
10 times 8 is 80. 16 divided by 4 is ? ; | of 32 ; | of 16; | of 40. Then 
comes 2 times 4 less 5 is 3 ; 8 times 3 less 5 is ?. 

The practical problems in this part of the work are as follows : 

Fritz has 4 times 9 Pf., Otto has 7 times 9 Pf . How many more pfennigs 
has Otto than Fritz? If one meter of goods costs 6 M., how much do 
9 meters cost ? 

At the close of the exercises with the one-place operative 
number, the following type of work is begun : 

9 equals 4 times 2 and i. 13 divided by 2 equals 6, rem. i. 
17 equals ? times ? and ? 

4 equals i times 3 and i. The third part of 11 equals 3, rem. 2. 
16 equals ? times ? and ?. The third part of 29 equals ?, rem.?. 

In the second half of this year's work a two-place operative 
number is used. The beginning is made with multiple of ten, 
as follows: 



ARITHMETIC 357 

10 and 10 equal 20 90 less 10 equals ? i times 10 equals 10 

10 and 20 equal ? 80 less 10 equals ? 2 times 10 equals ? 

to to to 

10 and 90 equal ? 20 less 10 equals ? 10 times 10 equals ? 

Problems are as follows. Some one owes 70 M. How many 
10 M. pieces are necessary to pay the debt? 
Then follow problems like these : 

20 and 20 equal ? 10 and 30 equal ? 60 less 30 equals ? 

20 and 60 equal ? 10 and 40 equal ? 60 less 40 equals ? 

60 divided by 3 equals ? 
60 divided by 2 equals ? 
• 20 is how much less than 70 ? 

60 is how much less than 90? 

Otto has 20 pens and 40 pens ; Karl has 30 pens. How many 
more has Otto than Karl ; and how many have they together ? 

In the last part of the year the following types of problem 
form the basis of the work : 

(a) Multiples of tens are added to multiples with digits in units' places. 
Ex. 82 and 10 equal ? 45 less 10 equals ? 33 and 50 equal ? 

45 and 10 equal ? 39 less 10 equals ? 99 less 70 equals ? 

(b) Multiples of ten with digits in units' places are added to multiples 

of ten. 

(c) These same kinds of numbers are subtracted. 

{d) Multiples of ten are multiplied and divided by units. 

{e) Multiples of ten with digits in units' place are added to and subtracted 

from similar numbers. 
45 and 18 equal ? 43 and 35 equal ? 99 less 27 equals 72. 
36 and 18 equal ? 62 and 35 equal ? 72 and 19 equal ? 
(/) Multiples of ten with digits in units' place are multiplied by imits 
and the products are increased or decreased by two-place figures. 

2 times 19 less 18 equals ? 2 times 45 less 27 equals ? 

2 times 24 less 18 equals ? 2 times 39 less 27 equals ? 

2 times 43 less 18 equals ? 3 times 27 less 19 equals ? 

It is interesting to note here that even as low as the second 
grade the multiplication of larger numbers by one-place figures 



358 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

is commenced. One sees here the basis of good oral arithmetic. 
The multiplication table up to lo times lo is learned in this grade. 

(g) Division of two-place numbers by units including 9. 
98 divided by 8 equals 12, rem. ? 
89 divided by 8 equals ?, rem. ? 

The following types of problems are solved by the children 
at the close of the year : 

(i) A family consists of six persons. Each eats two rolls a day. How 
many rolls does the family eat in a week? How much is spent for rolls 
each week if four rolls cost 10 Pf. ? 

(2) 3 boys divide a number of plums. Each receives 18. How many 
plums did they have all together ? 

The work of the third year deals with the number space from 
100 to 1000. The exercises are practically all oral, except in 
the latter part of the year. 

Addition and subtraction of numbers between 100 and 1000, 
as well as the multiplication and division of these numbers by 
figures of two places, are carried on in exactly the same way as 
in case of the numbers below 100. The beginning of denom- 
inate numbers is made in this grade in a formal way in that the 
drills in addition and the other processes deal with meters, milli- 
meters, grams, liters, and the like. One is surprised to see the 
facility with which the third-grade children handled difficult 
problems, of which we give some examples. 

240 mm. and 80 mm. equal ? 

400 mm. and 600 mm. equal ? 

How much is 4 times 60 and 30? 

How much is 7 times 80 and 50 ? 

How much is 8 times 90 and 60? 

9 M. equals ? Pf. 

The third part of 150, 210, 24 equals ? 

420 equals 60 times ? 640 equals 80 times ? 

540 equals 60 times ? 800 equals 80 times ? 

600 equals 60 times ? 720 equals 80 times ? 



ARITHMETIC 359 

h h h ^^ -h, is, ^ of a mark equals ? 
^jj, ^Q of a mark equals ? 

7 M. 19 Pf. equals ? Pf. 

7592 and 70 equal ? 

5 times 65 equals ? 

695 less 122 equals ? 

The solution of 5 times 65 is as follows : 

5 times 65 equals ? 
5 times 60 equals 300. 
5 times 5 equals 25. 
300 and 25 equal 325. 

The solution of 645 and 125 is as follows : 

645 and 125 equal ? s, 

645 and 100 equal 745. 
745 and 20 equal 765. 
765 and 5 equal 770. 

These problems are always solved orally. Later a problem 
like this one is solved. 

5 of 291 equals ? 

I of 200 equals 40. 

J of 90 equals 18. 

40 and 18 equal 58. 

I of 291 equals 58, rem. i. 

The stenographic reports suffice for explanation of the methods 
in the remaining years of the Volksschule. We wish now to 
call attention to some of the valuable features of the arithmetic 
work. 

The most important lesson taught by the method in arith- 
metic in the Volksschule is that of oral arithmetic. The chil- 
dren acquire an almost unbelievable facility in solving orai Arith- 
difficult problems without the aid of written figures. ^^^^'^ 
Unending drill with actual problems is the secret of the success of 



360 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

this work. First of all the process is explained, a step at a time. 
Each step is drilled and finally the complete process. A child 
is never allowed to stumble around uncertain as to what is to 
be done. The drills are usually short and very rapid. The 
practical applications follow. Fully three fourths of the time 
in arithmetic is spent in oral work. American teachers must 
come to learn that a very large part of the problems that are 
required written in our schools could be done just as well orally, 
and many of those that cannot be done orally are entirely un- 
necessary and useless. 

The German teacher does not depend upon the text-book to 
teach the children the arithmetical processes. In fact the book 
contains no rules or explanations in regard to how problems 
shall be solved. All the development work and most of the drill 
work is done in school. In taking up a new topic, for example, 
percentage, the teacher assigns no home work at all, but begins 
the hour with the first step in the development of the topic, and 
in this way knows that each child understands what is being done 
because all are given opportunity to solve problems involving 
this first operation. Usually the teacher solves a problem on 
the board by way of illustration and then asks several children 
to solve similar problems, requiring each to explain what he has 
done. The class in this way has ample opportunity to see what 
is expected and how every step is performed. German teachers 
will tell you that as far as they are concerned they do not care 
whether the children ever do any home work in arithmetic, 
but they do believe in work, rather than recitation, in the school- 
room. 

The German child after the third year usually has written 
work two or three times a week to prepare at home and to put 
Written into a notebook. The examples are taken from 
^®^^ the problem-book, which contains no explanations or 

rules. The number of problems require about fifteen or twenty 



ARITHMETIC 361 

minutes' preparation. The blackboard work is different from 
that in America. There is room for only one child, so while 
this child solves a problem, all the others watch for errors and 
for the purpose of acquiring the method. Then all the children 
solve a few examples at their seats. In all, the written work at 
school does not claim more than one fourth of the time. 

The practical problems in the course are excellent. Every 
problem lies within the experience of the child. The conditions 
of the problem correspond to actual conditions. The subject \ 

price of every article mentioned is the price as the Matter 
child knows it, not a fictitious price. One never hears problems 
which ask how many steps a man takes in walking ten kilo- 
meters. Nobody wants to know that. The majority of problems 
deal with wages, expenses of families, cost of food and clothing, 
insurance, railway fare, taxes, express, telephone and telegraph 
rates, rebate, interest, mortgages. The children themselves 
furnish a large part of the problems. The course of study 
already quoted gives more detail in reference to the topics taught. 

The course is intensely practical in that a great many por- 
tions of arithmetic as taught in Germany are omitted. Mul- 
tipliers and divisors of more than three places are very important 
seldom used. Fractions are limited to those in com- omissions 
mon use. For example, Txi-g-T, sqt, and the Hke seldom are 
permitted. Square root, cube root, partial payments, compound 
proportion, stocks and bonds, and other similar topics do not 
appear in the course of study. 

Arithmetic is correlated wherever possible. The problems in 
arithmetic are taken from almost every province of hfe. Dates 
in history give opportunity in reckoning days, months, 
and years ; travel and geography furnish problems 
deaUng with the purchase of railway tickets; in cooking and 
serving are examples to find the cost of materials and supplies. 
The correlation brought out in the insurance system and other 



362 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

economic problems is particularly close. The topic of insurance 
belongs in the history and civil government course, and there it 
receives a thorough explanation. However, it is vitalized in 
arithmetic by a great number of problems dealing with the various 
forms of insurance common among the lower classes of people. 
How taking out insurance is really done, how premiums are paid, 
and how profits are collected all enter into the problems and fur- 
nish a great deal of useful information. 

Taking everything into consideration, the arithmetic in the 
German schools is admirably done. It may be that the chil- 
dren are not allowed much freedom in organization of subject 
matter, but they most assuredly learn the four fundamental 
operations, and to solve the problems which actually come up 
in their lives. We cannot recall a single topic which they learn 
in arithmetic that does not find frequent use in the home, the 
shop, or in business. 

Bibliography in Arithmetic 

1. Hentschel, Lehrbuch des Rechenunterrichts in der Volksschide, 1907, 
Leipzig. 

2. Lehrplane der Berliner Gemeitideschiden, 1902-1913. 

3. Zentralbldlter, 1872-1914. 

GEOMETRY 

The number of hours given to geometry in the Volksschule 

varies somewhat with the number of grades in the school and 

even with cities. In Berlin the boys' schools begin 

Hours . J a 

geometry m the fifth year with one hour a week, 
while during the remaining three years the subject receives 
two hours each week. The girls' schools have only one hour 
each week during the last two years. In Hannover the boys 
have two hours geometry a week the last three years, while the 
girls have some geometrical solutions the last two years in con- 
nection with their arithmetic work. 



ARITHMETIC 363 

Geometry of the Volksschule, to all serious intents and purposes, 
is very similar to mensuration in our schools, that is, mensura- 
tion of lines, surfaces, and solids. The course of study course of 
in Hannover is more typical of the German school ^*^^y 
than is the Berlin course.^ 

Sixth Year (Boys) 

1. Fundamental geometrical conceptions: solids, surfaces, lines, angles, 

points. 

2. The straight line and linear measure. 

3. Angles ; measurement of angles. 

4. The triangle. 

5. The quadrilateral. 

. 6. Lines and angles in the circle. 

7. Surface — mensuration of surfaces. 

8. Measurement and reckoning of the quadrilateral and triangle. 

9. Volume. 

10. Mensuration of the cube and prism. 

Seventh Year 

1. Congruence of triangles. 

2. The most important propositions dealing with angles, sides and 

diagonals of the parallelogram. 

3. The Pythagorean proposition. 

4. Study of area of straight-line figures. 

5. Circumference and area of the circle and ellipse. 

6. Mensuration of the cube, the prism, the cylinder, pyramids, the 

sphere, and the cone. 

Eighth Year 

I Review of sixth and seventh years' work. 

2. The trapezium and the trapezoid. 

3. The regular polygon. 

4. Tangents and angles within and without the circle. 

5. Proportion of distance ; similarity of plane figures ; reduced scales. 

6. Circumference, area, sector, and segment of the circle. 

7. Truncated cones and pyramids. 

^ Lehrplan fiir die Biirgerschulen der . . . Stadt Hannover, 1913- 



364 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Seventh Year (Girls) 

1. Linear and square measure. 

2. The quadrilateral. 

3. The triangle. 

4. The circle. 

5. Volume. 

6. The prism. 

7. The cyKnder. 

All of these are treated in the arithmetic hour. 

Eighth Year 

1. Review of the work of the seventh year. 

2. Mensuration of the parallelogram and the triangle. 

3. Surface area and volume of the cube and the prism. 

4. Mensuration of straight-Hne surfaces. 

5. Area and circumference of the circle. 

6. Volume of simple solids. 

The course in Berlin is somewhat more extensive than the one 
here given, but the majority of schools, including 
the rural schools, have even less geometry than is 
here indicated. 

The children have no texts at all in geometry. The apparatus 
is that which is commonly used in geometry classes in this coun- 
try, the cubes, prisms, circles made up of triangles to show the 
method for finding the area, spheres, and the like. With re- 
gard to teaching material the teacher takes most of the geometri- 
cal figures in their setting in actual life, the schoolroom, the 
building, the playground, and so on. If the teacher wants a 
rectangle, the boys find it in the ceiling ; if he wants a triangle, 
they find it at the window ; if he wants a prism, they take a box ; 
and so on in every topic. When the children find areas of squares 
or parallelograms, it is always the area of a real square or par- 
allelogram which the children can see that is measured. No 
hypothetical areas are measured. The angles, lines, and surfaces 
discussed are always under the immediate observation of the eye. 



ARITHMETIC 365 

Almost without exception, where the children are calculating 
the area of a surface, a child is required to run his hand along the 
boundaries of the surface to be sure that he and the others really 
know what is being measured. 

Rigid proofs are not insisted on in every case, and very rarely 
in girls' schools. The propositions proven are only the easiest 
ones from plane and solid geometry. Practical knowledge 
and application are much more the aim of this work than formal 
mental improvement. 

The work in geometry is closely correlated with that in drawing. 
Children are required to draw to a scale the surfaces measured 
and described. 

One very valuable feature of all geometrical and arithmetical 
study in the Volksschule is the great amount of training given 
to judging offhand the area, dimensions, and volmne .^ ^^ 
of all sorts of geometrical surfaces and solids. On Length, Area 
the wall of every schoolroom is painted the meter, 
the square meter, and sometimes the cubic meter. One is often 
surprised at the accuracy of the children's judgment in the 
matter of judging length and volume. Most of the children 
can tell to witliin a few centimeters the length of almost any 
line under ten meters. The same accuracy is attained in judg- 
ing volume, weight, and time. In order to test the accuracy 
of this offhand judging, the actual measurement is made from 
time to time, but not enough to injure the child's confidence 
in his own judgment. 

In every grade the attempt is made to make objective the re- 
lation of numbers by means of lines, volumes, or areas. This 
is particularly valuable to the children in teaching fractions and 
almost any topic in percentage and is used almost universally 
by German teachers. 

The stenographic lesson in this chapter illustrates sufficiently 
the actual class procedure. 



366 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The valuable lesson of the geometry in the Volksschule is the 
close relation made between the geometry of theory and the 
geometry of everyday Hfe. The children can really use every 
geometrical fact learned in the school — and that rather fre- 
quently. The girls are given only that which they need. Ab- 
stract proofs and hypothetical figures and propositions find 
no place at all in the elementary school. On the other hand, 
some geometrical facts are necessary for everybody and too 
frequently these are omitted from our courses of study. 

Arithmetic. First Year. Boys 
(The class had been in school ten weeks.) 

Teacher: Count to ten. Use the counting-frame. 

(The counting-frame consisted of two wooden uprights, between which 

ten wire rods were stretched. On each rod were ten wooden balls, 

some red and some green.) 
Pupil: Counting to ten as he shoves a hall for each number from left to right 

One, two, three. . . . ten. 
Teacher: A man has six birds. He sells four. How many has he left ? 
Pupil: He has two left. 
Teacher: Give all the combinations of 7. 
Pupil: Counting with the halls. 1 and 6 are 7. 2 and 5 are 7. 
Teacher: Another boy. 
Pupil: I and 6 are 7. 2 and 5 are 7. 3 and 4 are 7. 4 and 3 are 7. 

5 and 2 are 7. 6 and i are 7. 
Teacher: Count the days of the week. 
Pupil: Monday, i; Tuesday, 2; Wednesday, 3; Thursday, 4; Friday, 

5 ; Saturday, 6 ; Sunday, 7. 
Teacher: How many days in a week? 
Pupil: There are 7 days in a week. 
Teacher: Sunday and Monday have passed. How many days of the week 

remain ? 
Pupil: 7 less 2 is 5, 

Teacher: 9 less i is how many? Indicating on the frame. 
Pupil: 9 less i is 8. 
Teacher: 8 less i is how many? 





ARITHMETIC 


Pupil: 


8 less I is 7. 


Teacher. 


' 7 less I is how many ? 


Pupil: 


7 less I is 6. 


Teacher. 


• 6 less I is how many ? 


Pupil: 


6 less I is 5. 


Teacher: 


• 5 and I are how many? 



367 



Pupil: 5 and i are 6. (In each case the child indicated the addition on 

the counting-frame.) 
Teacher: 6 and i are how many? 
Pupil: 6 and i are 7. 
Teacher: 7 and i are how many? 
Pupil: 7 and i are 8. 
Teacher: 8 and i are how many? 
Pupil: 8 and i are 9. 
Teacher: 9 and i are how many? 
Pupil: 9 and i are lo. 
Teacher: We shall now count by 2's to ten on the frame. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. 

Repeat that. 
Pupil: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. (Indicated all addition.) 
Teacher: Count down from 10 by 2's. 
Pupil: 10, 8, 6 . . . 
Pupil: 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, o. 
Teacher: (Writing while a pupil indicated the subtraction on the frame, 

and gave the results.) 



8-2=6 


10-3 = 7 


6 — 2=4 


10—4 = 6 


10-2=8 


10-5 = 5 


6 — 2 =4 


10—6=4 


4—2=2 


10-7=3 


10— I =9 


10-8 = 2 


10—2 =8 


10—9 = 1 



Teacher: A boy had ten cherries. He ate three. How many had he left ? 
Pupil: He had 7 left. 10—3=7. 

(This drill work was repeated six times.) 

The teacher made all the addition combinations up to 10, 
using the frame. The children did all the work. 



368 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



o ooooooooo 

oo oooooooe 

OOO 0000009 

oooo oooooo 
ooooo ooooo 
oooooo oooo 
ooooooo OOO 

OOOOOCOO OO 
OOOOOOOOO o 
OOOOOOOOO o 



After that had been finished, the teacher wrote a number of 
problems on the board for the pupils to solve on slates. 

io = 5 + ? io=4+? 

io = 7 + ? io = i + ? 

io = 9 + ? io = 6 + ? 

io=3 + ? io = 8-l-? 

IO = 2 + ? 10 = 7 + ? 



Class VII a. Hannover. Arithmetic. 37 Girls. Age 6-7 

(The children counted with wooden sticks, laying the base number — in 
this case "9" — first and adding the required number to it. The 
lesson dealt with "9" and its combinations, as 9 + 1, 9+2, etc.) 

Teacher: Without the sticks, — How many are 9+1 ? 

Pupil: 9 and i are 10. 

Teacher: 8 and 2? 

Pupil: 8 and 2 are 10. 

Teacher : 6 and 4 ? 

Pupil: 6 and 4 are 10. 

Teacher: 3 and 7? 

Pupil: 3 and 7 are 10. 

Teacher: 5 and 5? 

Pupil: 5 and 5 are 10. 

Teacher: 2 and 8? 



ARITHMETIC 369 

Pupil: 2 and 8 are 10. 

Teacher: 4 and 6? 

Pupil: 4 and 6 are 10. 

Teacher: Now count with the sticks. How many are 9 and 3? (The 

pupils always keep 9 sticks down in one row, then add enough (i) to 

make 10, and lay the remainder of the given number in the next row.) 
Pupil: 9 and i are 10. 10 and 2 are 12. Therefore, 9 and 3 are 12. 
Teacher: How many are 9 and 5? 
Pupil: 9 and 5? 9 and i are 10. 10 and 4 are 14. Therefore, 9 and 5 

are 14. 
Teacher: 9 and 6? 

Pupil: 9. and i are 10. 10 and 4 are 14 . . . 
Teacher: No, that is wrong. How many have you in your hand after 

laying i in the first row ? 
Pupil: Five. 
Teacher: Well, then! 

Pupil: 10 and 5 are 15. Therefore, 9 and 6 are 15. 
Teacher : 9 and 7 ? 

Pupil: 9 and i are 10. 10 and 6 are 16. Therefore, 9 and 7 are 16. 
Teacher: 9 and 9? 

Pupil: 9 and i are 10. 10 and 8 are 18. Therefore, 9 and 9 are 18. 
(The answers given were with one exception correct, but the other results 

did not come as readily as the report would indicate. The pupils 

talked slowly, and laid the sticks carefully before giving their replies.) 
Teacher: Now we shall add without the sticks. How many are 10 and 3 ? 

Give merely the result. 
Pupil: Thirteen. 
Teacher: 10 and 4? 
Pupil: Fourteen. 
Teacher: 10 and 8? 
Pupil: Eighteen. 
Teacher: 10 and 7? 
Pupil: Seventeen. 



Teacher : 


' 10 and 2 ? 


Pupil: 


Twelve. 


Teacher: 


• 9 and 7 ? Solve aloud. 


Pupil: 


9 and I are 10. 10 and 5 . . . 


Teacher . 


• No. 


Pupil: 


9 and I are 10. 10 and 6 are 16. 




2 B 



Therefore, 9 and 7 are 16. 



370 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: g and 5? 

Pupil: Fourteen. 

Teacher: 9 and 8? 

Pupil: Seventeen. 

Teacher: 9 and 6? 

Pupil: Fifteen. 

Teacher: 8 and 3? Solve aloud. 

Pupil: 8 and 2 are 10. 10 and i are 11. Therefore, 8 and 3 are 11. 

Class III. Sixth Year 

Teacher: The aim of the lesson is to see how after an unequal division we 
calculate the remainder as a fraction of the whole number. A father 
divides a dozen pencils among his three children. He gives Alfred 
^ dozen, Bertha | dozen, and Konrad the remainder. What fractional 
part of a dozen does Konrad receive ? 

Pupil: I dozen + | dozen = 6 pieces + 4 pieces = 10 pieces. 

1 dozen — 10 pieces = 2 pieces, the remainder. 

2 pieces = | dozen. .'. The remainder is | dozen. 
Teacher: How was the dozen divided ? 

Pupil: i + i + i 

Teacher: How is that unequal division? 

Pupil: j\ dozen + /j dozen + ^^ dozen = 6 pieces + 4 pieces + 2 pieces. 

Teacher: How many did Alfred and Bertha receive together? 

Pupil: They received 6 pieces +4 pieces, as dozens: tz + A= it = 

1 dozen. 

Teacher: What fractional part of a dozen did Bertha and Konrad receive 

together ? 
Pupil: They received i + i = 4 pieces + 2 pieces = 6 pieces = i dozen. 
(As will have already been noted, such statements as f + | = 4 pieces + 

2 pieces = 6 pieces are incorrect.) 

Teacher: What fractional part greater is | dozen than | dozen? 

Pupil: I dozen = f dozen + | dozen, so I dozen is | dozen greater than 

^ dozen. 
In twelfths of a dozen : j% = j\ + ■^^, thus j\ is y^^ greater than ^. 
Teacher: How did we find the unknown remainder? 
Pupil: We reduced the dissimilar fractions to a lower order, added them 

and subtracted them from a dozen. 
Teacher: How do we determine the remainder as a fractional part of a 

dozen ? 



ARITHMETIC 371 

Pupil: 2 pieces are a sixth part {\) of 12 pieces. 

Teacher: How do we determine the remainder, when we express the units 

of a lower order immediately as fractional parts of a dozen ? 
Pupil: We change \ -{- \ dozen into twelfths of a dozen, add them, then 

subtract them from a whole dozen, which we express as || dozen. 
Teacher : Which figures do we add in the addition of yf and ^ ? 
Pupil: We add the 6 and 4, the numerators. 

Teacher: What figures do we subtract when we subtract \^ from ^f ? 
Pupil: We subtract 10 from 12. 

Teacher : How do we add \ + \ -\- \ dozen as fractional parts of a dozen ? 
Pupil: We reduce the fractions to a common denominator and then add 

the numerators. 
Teacher: In what ways only can we compare \ dozen and \ dozen? 
Pupil: We can compare \ dozen and | dozen by changing them to units 

of a lower order or to twelfths of a dozen. 
Teacher: If I give one boy \ dozen apples, and another \ dozen apples, 

what will the remainder be, if I had only one dozen apples ? 
Pupil: \ dozen + i dozen = 4 pieces + 3 pieces = 7 pieces. 
I dozen — 7 pieces = 5 pieces, the remainder. 
5 pieces = y\ dozen. Therefore, the remainder was y\ dozen apples. 
Teacher: Why cannot a dozen be divided into | and | parts? 
Pupil: Because f dozen + f dozen equals more than a dozen. 
Teacher: What remainder shall I have, if I give away \ and ^ of a Shock 

of pears? {Shock = 60.) 
Pupil: J Sh. -}- ^ Sh. = 12 pieces 4- 10 pieces = 22 pieces. 
22 pieces taken from 60 pieces = 38 pieces. 
38 pieces = f§. Therefore, the remainder is |^ Shock. 
Teacher: A daily paper is subscribed for by three families in common. 

A pays f , B I, C the remainder of the subscription. What part has C 

to pay? We think that such fractions are made of the price that we 

can take out fourths and fifths. With what fractional parts is that 

possible ? 
Pupil: With twentieths, fortieths, sixtieths, etc. 
Teacher: We'll take the smallest fraction. How can we subtract fourths 

and fifths from twentieths ? 
Pupil: I = -i^, and I = ^%. 

Teacher: What fractional part then do A and B pay together? 
Pupil: They pay f + i = ^ + i\ = hi 
Teacher: What is the remainder ? What do we add to |^ to get |§ ? 



372 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Pupil: 

Teacher: 

Pupil: 



^ + /^ = 1^. 5'iy is the remainder. 
What fractional part more does A pay than B ? 
- 4 = M - iny = iV- A pays ^V more than B. 




Teacher: How do we add f and |? 

Pupil: We change the fractions to twentieths and add the numerators of 

the new fractions. 
Teacher: Into what other denominations could we have reduced these 

fractions ? 
Pupil: We could have reduced them to fortieths, sixtieths, eightieths, 

and hundredths. 
Teacher: Why did we select twentieths? 
Pupil: Because it was the smallest. 
Teacher: How do we find the remainder ? 

Pupil: We think of the sum required to make up \^ to f§ or one whole (i). 
Teacher: How do we compare f and \7 
Pupil: We change them into twentieths and subtract one from the other 

to find how much larger one is than the other. 
Teacher: Three persons buy some coal together. A pays for | of it, B pays 

for f of it, and C for the remainder. For what does C pay ? 
Pupil: A and B pay for the sum of | + | = ^^ . . . 
Teacher: 48 is not the least common denominator. 
Pupil: A and B together pay for | + f = /^ + /^ = if of the coal. 
C pays for the remainder, if + H = If • 
C pays for \\ of the coal. 
Teacher How do we find the remainder when we have to take the sum of 

such fractions as^ +1,4 +5,i + \ and the like from a whole (i) ? 
Pupil: We always think of the whole being divided into fractional parts, 

to which denomination the fractions treated can be reduced so that 

we can add and subtract them. 
Teacher: Give an example. 
Pupil: 3 + i to find the remainder when the sum is subtracted from a 



ARITHMETIC 373 

whole. We think of a whole as divided into fifteen (15) equal parts, 

because we can change | and j to fifteenths. 
Teacher : What do we do when we have to deal with dissimilar fractions ? 
Pupil: We make them similar. 
Teacher: The new denominator, which gives both dissimilar fractions, is 

called the common denominator. 

How do we find the least common denominator ? 

Let us see how we do that. What is the common denominator of 

Jandi? 
Pupil: 4. 

Teacher: Of ^ and J? 
Pupil: 6. 

Teacher: Of f and |? 
Pupil: 8. 

Teacher: Of J and |? 
Pupil: 6. 

Teacher: Of^and^? 
Pupil: 9. 

Teacher: Ofjandl? 
Pupil: 8. 

Teacher: Of j and ^^ ? 
Pupil: 12. 
Teacher: You see the common denominator falls in the arithmetical series 

of the lesser of the two fractions, as 2, 4 ; 2, 4, 6 ; 2, 4, 6, 8 ; 3,6; 3, 6, 9. 

In all these examples the larger of the two denominators could be the 

common denominator. 
Teacher : What is the common denominator of | and | ? 
Pupil: 6 is the common denominator. 
Teacher: Offand^? 
Pupil: 12. 
Teacher : Of | and | ? 
Pupil: The common denominator is 35. 
Teacher: The two denominators belong to different arithmetical series, 

and the common denominator is the product of the two. The de- 
nominators in the examples just given have no conomon denominator. 

What is the common denominator of | and ^ ? 
Pupil: 7 and 3 have no common factor, so the common denominator of 

^ and ^ is 7 X 3 = 21. 
Teacher: What are the common denominators of these pairs of fractions, 



374 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

I and I, ^ and ^, | and ^V? These pairs of fractions are related by 
common factors, because they belong to similar arithmetical series. 
We find the lowest common denominators in such cases by going up 
in the arithmetical series of the largest denominator and testing every 
member of the series to see if the smallest denominator is contained in 
it. What is the lowest common denominator of | and -^j^? 

Pupil: 20 is not divisible by 8. The next number in the arithmetical 
series is 40. 40 is divisible by 8. Hence, 40 is the least common de- 
nominator. 

Teacher: Summarize what we have learned about finding the least common 
denominator. 

Pupil: We find the least common denominator in the arithmetical series 
of the largest denominator. 

Hannover. Class V a. (Third Year.) Arithmetic. 54 Girls 

(See lesson in the same class on page 322.) 

Teacher: When did Henry hold his first banquet in Hannover? 

Pupil: He held his first banquet here in 11 63. 

Teacher: How long ago is that ? 

Pupil: That was 751 years ago. 

Teacher: Solve that aloud. 

Pupil: From 1163 to 1863 was 700 years. From 1863 to 1900 was 37 

years and from 1900 to 1914 is 14 years. 37 years and 14 years are 

51 years. So all together, 751 years. 
Teacher: When was Lauenrode built ? 
Pupil: It was built in 121 5. 

Teacher : How long ago was that ? Be clever, (The answer came at once.) 
Pupil: 699 years. 

Teacher: How did you figure it so quickly? 
Pupil: There is only i year lacking until 191 5, or exactly 700 years since 

1215. 
Teacher: When was Lauenrode destroyed? 
Pupil: It was destroyed in 137 1. 
Teacher: How long did it stand? 
Pupil: It stood 156 years. From 121 5 to 13 15 is 100 years. And from 

1315 to 1371 is 56 years. Therefore, in all 156 years. 
Teacher: How long ago was that ? I mean when the jBwrg was destroyed. 
Pupil: It was destroyed 543 years ago. From 1371 to 1871 was 500 



ARITHMETIC 375 

years, and from 187 1 to 1900 was 29 years, and from 1900 to 19 14, 
14 years. 29 years and 14 years are 43 years. Therefore, from 13 71 
to the present time is 543 years. 

Teacher: When did Hannover become a city? 

Pupil: Hannover became a city in 1241. 

Teacher: How long ago was that? 

Pupil: That was 673 years ago. 

Teacher: When was the Marktkirche built? 

Pupil: The Marktkirche was built in 1250. 

Teacher: How long ago was the ilfar^/^irc/je built ? Solve aloud. 

Pupil: It was built 664 years ago. From 1250 to 1850 is 600 years, and 
from 1850 to 1900 is 50 years, and from 1900 to 19 14 is 14 years. Fifty 
(50) years and 14 years are 64 years. Therefore, all together 664 years. 

Teacher: When was the Nicolai Foundation estabHshed? 

Pupil: The Nicolai Stift was established in 1256. 

Teacher: Calculate how long ago that has been. 

Pupil: From 1256 to 1856 is 600 years. From 1856 to 1900 is 44 years. 
From 1900 to 1914 is 14 years. 44 years and 14 years make 58 years. 
Therefore, together, 658 years. 

Teacher: What have you noticed recently in the store windows? 

Pupil: ''White Week." 

Pupil: "10% rebate." 

Teacher : What is "White Week " ? 

Pupil: Always about the first of February the merchants sell white goods 
at a reduction for a few days. 

Teacher: What is '' 10 % rebate " ? 

Pupil: That means you can buy i mark's worth of goods for 90 pfennigs. 

Teacher: Rebate means a reduction. What is "inventory sale"? (No 
answer.) Every year the merchant goes over his wares and takes 
stock of them and sees what he has. Things that he has not been able 
to sell readily, he places on sale and this is called an "inventory sale." 

Teacher: I buy something for 8 M. and receive 10% rebate. What do 
I pay ? Give just the result. 

Pupil: 7.20 M. 

Teacher: I buy for 5 M., 10% rebate. What do I pay? 

Pupil: 4.50 M. 

Teacher: I buy for 12 M., 10% rebate. What do I pay? 

Pupil: 10.80. 

Teacher: Solve that aloud. 



376 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: I receive on i M., lo Pf. reduction. On 12 M. I receive 12 times 
10 Pf. or 1.20 M. reduction. Therefore, I must pay 12 M. less 1.20 M. 
or 10.80 M. 

Teacher: I buy for 6.50 M., 10 % rebate. What must I pay? 

Pupil: On I M. I receive 10 Pf. rebate. On 6 M. 6 times 10 Pf. or 60 Pf. 
On 50 Pf. I receive 5 Pf. rebate. In all I receive 65 Pf. rebate. There- 
fore, I must pay 6.50 M. — .65 M. or 5.85 M. 

Teacher: I buy for 4.50 M., 10% rebate. What do I pay? 

Pupil: 4.05 M. 

Teacher: A whole mark has how many pfennigs? 

Pupil: A whole mark has 100 Pf. 

Teacher: iM.? 

Pupil: \ M. has 25 Pf. 

Teacher: ^M.? 

Pupil: I M. has 50 Pf. 

Teacher: fM.? 

Pupil: f M. has 75 Pf. 

Teacher: How many pfennigs has 6 j M. ? ^M.? 

Pupil: 625 Pf. 

Teacher: How many pfennigs in 3^ M.? 

Pupil: 3! M. have 375 Pf. 

Teacher: \M.7 

Pupil: 20 Pf. 

Teacher: | M. 

Pupil: f M. have 80 Pf. 

Teacher: 25 Pf. is made up of what fractional parts of a mark? 

Pupil: 25 Pf. are i M. 

Pupil: 25 Pf. are i M + 3j»5 M. 

Pupil: -i^ M. 

Pupil: 3^ M. - ^ M. 

Teacher: Of what fractional parts of a mark are 60 Pf. made up ? 

Pupil: i M. + 3!^ M. 

Pupil: f M. 

Pupil: H M. 

Pupil: f M. + ^ij M. 

Pupil: ^ M. 

Pupil: ^ M. + 3^ M. 

Teacher: Of what fractional parts of a mark are 45 Pf. made up? 

Pupil: ^M.+ 2V M. 



ARITHMETIC 377 



Pupil: ^^ M. 

Pupil: I M. + ^ M. 

Pupil: I M. - 3jV M. 

Pupil: \M.-\-^M.^-^U. 

Pupil: i M. 4- 1 M. 



Arithmetic. Class III. (Fifth Year.) Steglitz. Berlin. Boys 

Teacher: What is the product of i| X 5? 

Pupil: gf. 

Teacher: Solve it orally. 

Pupil: 5 X I are 5. 5 X ^ are ^ or 4! , together, 9! . /. $ X i^ are 9I. 

Teacher L Write this problem on the board: 12 X 6|. 

Pupil: Solution : (Pupil talking as he solved.) 



[2«0 


+ ^I2 


•i =^ 





72 








10 








82 








.'. 12 


X6| 


= 82. 





Teacher: How do you multiply fractions? 

Pupil: The numerator of the fraction is multiplied by the number and 

divided by its denominator. 
Teacher: If a cyclist can ride 3f kilometers in J of an hour, how far can he 

rideinf hr.? 
Pupil: (solving at the board) : 

5.3Hm. = 5-3 km. + ( 5.3! km. =^^ =^ km. =3! km.) 

^ 4 4 / 

15 km. 

3f km. 

iSfkm. 

.'. He rode i8f km. in | of an hour. 

Teacher: How much time had he used ? 
Pupil: f of a minute. 
Pupil: He had used fifty (50) minutes. 

Teacher: What is | multiplied by 5? (No answers were correct.) Well 
then, if I divide a whole in 8 parts, how many eighths do I get ? 



378 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

PupU : We get (f ) eight eighths. 

Teacher: Well, if I divide each one of these eighth parts into four parts, 

how many parts shall I have ? 
Pupil: There will be 32 parts. 
Teacher: Very well, then, what is f multiplied by J? 
Pupil: I multiplied by ^ is y^^. . . . 
Teacher: In division we can only divide units of one denomination by 

units of like denomination. We cannot divide apples by plums. And 

so it is in fractions. I cannot divide the area of the playground by 

meters. By what can I divide the area of the playground ? 
Pupil: We can divide it by square meters. 

Teacher: How often is one meter contained in the length of this room? 
Pupil: A meter is contained nine times in the length of the room. 
Teacher: How of ten are 6 pears contained in 90 plums ? 
Pupil: 15 times. 

Pupil: They are not contained at all. It cannot be done. 
Teacher: To how many boys can I give 6 pears each, if I have ninety 

(90) pears? 
Pupil: To fifteen boys. 
Teacher: How often is f contained in f ? 
Pupil: I is contained in f two (2) times. 

Teacher: Divide 3! by f . What must we do with the mixed number? 
Pupil: The mixed number must be changed to an improper fraction. 

3f are equal to ^^-. ^^ divided by f = 5. 
Teacher: Divide 5I by |. 

Pupil: 5I -^ I : s\ are equal to ^ : ^- divided by | =8. 
Teacher: 9| -^ 3I. Now use your eyes as well as your minds. 
Pupil: Three. 
(The period was interrupted and finally cut short by some secretarial work 

which the teacher had to attend to.) 

Arithmetic. Sixth Year. Boys. Steglitz 

Teacher: There were four persons in business together. A had invested 
30,000 M., B 10,000 M., C 7,000 M., and D 1,000 M. The earnings 
for the year were 10,701.20 M. D received 2% of the earnings for 
managing the business. What did each one receive after D had been 
paid? 

Pupil: The first thing I do is to find 2 % of 10,701.2 M. 



ARITHMETIC 379 

Teacher: What is 2 % of 10,701.20 M. ? 
Pupil: 2 % of 10,701.20 M. is 214.02 M. 

Teacher: How do you get that ? Write the amount on the board. 
Pupil: (Writes 10,701.20 M. on the board.) 

Teacher: What do you need to do now to find 2 % of the amount? 
Pupil: I % of 10,701.20 M. is 107.01 M. 
2% of 10,701.20 is 214.02 M. 

Then I subtract 214.02 M. from 10,701.20 M.[in order to find the amount 
which is divided among A, B, C, and D. In all there are 48 parts; 
A receives ff , B receives |f , C receives -^-g, and D receives it- 
10,701.20 M. less 214.02 M. is 10,487.18 M., which is the profit less the 
2 % paid to D for his work. (Up to this point the solution was oral.) 
^ of 10,487.18 M. = 10,487.18 M -J- 48 = 218.44. 
A receives 30 X 218.44 M. = 6553.20 M. 
B receives 10 X 218.44 = 2184.40 M. 
C receives 7 X 218.44 = 1529.08 M. 
D receives i X 218.44 = 218.44 M. 
Teacher: A and B subscribe for a newspaper together, paying 1.80 M. 

quarterly. A pays 20 Pf. more than B. What does each pay? 
Pupil: 1.80 M. less .20 M. = 1.60 M., which is the amount that is 
equally divided between A and B. 

1.60 M. -^ 2 = .80 M. But since A pays 20 Pf. more than B, he pays 
1. 00 M. and B pays .80 M. 
Teacher: The principle is to subtract the amount which one pays more 
than the other, then the remainder is divided equally between them. 
Solve the problem again. 
Pupil: 1.80 M. — .20 M. = 1.60 M. 
1.60 M. 4- 2 = .80 M. 
.80 M. + .20 M. = 1. 00 M., what A pays. 
.80 M. = what B pays. 
Teacher: Read the amounts paid by each as parts. 
Pupil: I part + i part + .20 M. = 1.80 M. 
2 parts -f .20 M. = 1.80 M. 
2 parts = 1.60 M. 
I part = .80 M. 
B pays I part = .80 M. 
A pays I part + 20 M. = i.oo M. 
Teacher: A and B divide 60 M., A receiving 10 M. more than B. What 
does each receive? 



38o 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Pupils: I part + lo M. + i part = 60 M. 

2 parts + 10 M. = 60 M. 

2 parts = 50 M. 

I part = 2 5 M. 

I part + 10 M. = 35 M., what A receives. 

I part = 25 M., what B receives. 



Arithmetic. Sixth Year. Boys. Steglitz. Berlin 

(The following is a short exercise given in about ten minutes on registration 

day when classes were not completely organized.) 
Teacher: What is a fraction ? 
Pupil: A fraction is a part of a whole. 
Teacher: That is not exactly right. 
Pupil: A fraction is one or more parts of a whole. 
Teacher: How many parts are there in a fraction? 
Pupil: There are three parts. 
Teacher: What are they? 

Pupil: They are the numerator, the line, and the denominator. 
Teacher: What is the function of the numerator? 
Pupil: The numerator {Zdhler) is above the line and tells the number of 

parts taken to make the fraction. 
Teacher: What does the denominator do? 
Pupil: The denominator tells the size of the parts into which the whole 

is divided. 
Teacher : What is f ? What does that mean ? 
Pupil: It means that a whole is divided into four (4) parts, and that three 

are taken to make up the fraction f . 
Teacher : Three fourths (f ) can come from more than one unit or whole. 

How? 
Pupil: f is 3 X 4 of a whole. 
Teacher: One can get the fraction f in another way. 



^ 


X S X N 


V. \ 


^ 


Va 


% 


y. ) 


% 


X 


% 



ARITHMETIC 381 

Teacher: One can take three one fourth parts of one whole, but there is 
another way. One can take three wholes and take the fourth part of 
each and thus have three fourths (f ), as the diagram shows. What does 
f mean, when one takes the fourth part of each of three wholes or units? 

Pupil: Three fourths would mean 3 divided by 4, or f . 

Teacher: That is all for this morning. What is your next class? 

Geometry. Seventh Year. Girls 

Teacher: What kinds of lines are there? 

Pupil: There are straight lines and crooked lines. 

Teacher: What kinds of straight lines are there? 

Pupil: There are perpendicular, horizontal, and oblique lines. 

Teacher: What kinds of crooked lines are there? 

Pupil: There are spiral lines, snake-shaped lines, and broken lines, and 

also curved and mixed lines. 
Teacher: Very well, draw those on the board for me. How do we measure 

a line ? 
Pupil: We measure a line by a unit of linear measure, for example, the 

centimeter or kilometer. 
Teacher: Show me a unit of linear measure. 
Pupil: That is one (pointing at the meter , which is marked off on the walls 

of German schoolrooms). 
Teacher: Yes, how long is that line (on the board) in all? 
Pupil: It is two meters long. 
Teacher: How many meters in a kilometer? 
Pupil: There are one thousand meters in a kilometer. 
Teacher: How far would that be from here? 
Pupil: That would be about to Ringstrasse or the railway station. 
Teacher : What is that (drawing a circle on the board) ? 
Pupil: That is a circle. 

Teacher : What are these (pointing at the arms of the compass) ? 
Pupil: They are the arms of the compass. 
Teacher : What do we call lines which are equally distant from each other 

at all points ? 
Pupil : We call such lines parallel lines. 

Teacher: And lines which are not equally distant from each other? 
Pupil: We call them non-parallel lines. 

Teacher: What happens when two non-parallel lines are projected? 
Pupil: They meet or cut each other. 



382 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



Teacher: What is formed by their intersections? 

Pupil: Angles are formed when two lines intersect. 

Teacher: If I place the arms of the compass perpendicular to each other, 

what kind of an angle do I get ? 
Pupil: That is a right angle. 
Teacher: If I spread the arms of the compass a little farther apart, what 

kind of an angle is that ? 
Pupil: That is an obtuse angle. 
Teacher: If I put the arms of the compass so that they form a straight 

line, what kind of an angle is that ? 
Pupil: That is a straight Hne or an angle of i8o°. 
Teacher: Yes, or straight angle. If I make the angle still larger than 

1 80°, what do we call it? 
Pupil: We call that a reflex angle. 

Teacher: Draw all these kinds of angles on the board. Where have 
we a right angle in the room? 

Pupil: Over there in the corner (shows 
the angle). (The teacher then has the 
girls find the different types of angles 
^ in various places in the room.) 

Teacher: How do these lines stand with 

reference to each other? 
Pupil: They are perpendicular to each 
other. 

Teacher : What kinds of angles are a, b, c, and d ? 
Pupil: They are all right angles. 
Teacher: Show me such angles in the room. 



a 





Fig. a. 



Fig. b. 



Teacher: The angles 6 and/, and g and /f, are complementary angles. They 
have one side in common and the other sides form a straight line. 
What are the angles e and / equal to ? 



ARITHMETIC 



383 



a 



b 



Pupil: The angles e and/ are equal to 2 right angles. 

Teacher: How do you know that? 

Pupil: The angles formed by a straight line and a perpendicular upon it 

are equal to two right angles. 
Teacher: The angles e and / (Fig. a) are 

called adjacent angles and adjacent 

angles are equal to two right angles. 

What kind of angles are e and/? 
Pupil: The angles e and / are adjacent 

angles and are equal to 2 right angles. 
Teacher: What kind of angles are a and d 

(Fig..)? 
Pupil: They are vertical angles. 
Teacher: Vertical angles are equal. 

The angle e (Tig. a) + the angle / = 2 right angles. 

The angle h (Fig. a) + the angle / = 2 right angles. 

Then Ze + Zf = Z.h -\- Z/, because things equal to the same thing 
are equal to each other. Then I subtract the angle / from both 
quantities and I have 

Ze = Ah. 

How can that be true? 
Pupil: Equals taken from equals leave equals. 
Teacher: That is good. I see you have given attention. 



d 



Fig. c. 



A 


P^ 




B 


eyf 





3Xh 



Teacher: What kind of lines are A and J5? 

Pupil: They are parallel lines. 

Teacher: I shall name one of a pair of adjacent angles and you name the 

other. The angle a. 
Pupil: The angle c. 
Pupil: Or the angle h. 
Teacher: The angle e. 
Pupil : The angle / or g. 



(This was continued for some minutes.) 



384 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: What is the sum of such adjacent angles? 

Pupil: 180°. 

Teacher: Now let us see the vertical angles. What is the relation of 

vertical angles? 
Pupil: Vertical angles are equal. 

Teacher: What is the angle corresponding to the angle a} 
Pupil: The angle d. 

Teacher: Pick out other pairs of vertical angles. 
Pupil: The angles h and c, e and h, g and/. 
Teacher: Look at the angles a and e. We have a new name for them. 

They are corresponding angles. What kind of angles are they ? 
Pupil: They are corresponding angles. 
Teacher: Pick out some other corresponding angles. 
Pupil: The angles h and/, d and h, and g and c. 
Teacher: Why are such angles equal ? (No answer.) If we were to place 

the angle e upon the angle a, by just shoving the lower part of the 

figure up, the angles would coincide. We have another kind of an 

angle, like those we have here in angle a and angle g. We call them 

supplementary angles. What do we call them ? 
Pupil: We call them supplementary angles. 
Teacher: There is another kind of angle. Notice the angles a and h. 

They are called alternate exterior angles (Wechselwinkel). What are 

they called? 
Pupil: They are called alternate exterior angles. 
Teacher: They are always equal. Why? (No answer.) What is the 

relation of the angle a and the angle d ? 
Pupil: They are equal. 

Teacher: What do we know of the angle d and the angle h? 
Pupil: They are equal. 

Teacher What is the conclusion about angle a and angle h ? 
Pupil: They must be equal too, because things equal to the same thing 

are equal to each other. 
Teacher: Yes. What kind of angles have we learned about to-day? 
Pupil: We have learned about alternate exterior angles. 
(The bell rang at this point. The teacher said that geometry was of little 

benefit to the girls and that he never insisted on a strict proof. The 

discipline was very poor.) 



ARITHMETIC 385 

Arithmetic. Seventh Year. Boys 

Teacher: Write on the board 4 meters as kilometers. 
Pupil: 0,004 km. (writing). Naught, comma, naught, naught, four kilo- 
meters. 
Teacher: How else can that be read ? 
Pupil: Four- thousandth of a kilometer, or four meters. 
Teacher: Write 40 meters as kilometers. 
Pupil: 0,040 km. 

Teacher: Write 400 meters as kilometers. 
Pupil: 0,400 km. 

Teacher: Write thirty-four and thirty-six thousandths kilometers. 
Pupil: (Writes) 34,036 km. 
Teacher: Read that in all possible ways. 

Pupil: Thirty-four, comma, naught, three, six kilometers. Thirty- 
four . . . 
Pupil: Thirty-four, and thirty-six thousandths kilometers. 

Thirty-four kilometers, thirty-six meters. 

Thirty-four thousand, thirty-six meters. 
Teacher: Repeat that all together. 
Pupils: Thirty-four, comma, naught, three, six kilometers. 

Thirty-four, and thirty-six thousandths kilometers. 

Thirty-four kilometers, thirty-six meters. 

Thirty-four thousand, thirty-six kilometers. 
Teacher: Karl, repeat that once more. 
Pupil: Thirty-four, comma, naught, three, six kilometers. 

Thirty-four, and thirty-six thousandths kilometers. 

Thirty-four kilometers, thirty-six meters. 

Thirty-four thousand, thirty-six kilometers. 
Teacher: Read that all together (writing 135,05 m. on the board). 
Pupils: One himdred thirty-five, comma, naught, five meters. 

One hundred thirty-five, and five hundredths meters. 

One hundred thirty-five meters, five centimeters. 

Thirteen thousand five hundred five centimeters. 
Teacher: Repeat this together : 417,30 Hektoliter (hi.). 
Pupils: Four hundred seventeen, comma, thirty hektoliters. 

Four hundred seventeen, and thirty hundredths hektoliters. 

Four hundred seventeen hektoliters, thirty liters. 

Forty-one thousand, seven hundred thirty Hters. 
2 c 



386 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: Repeat this together : 300,01 Marks. 
Pupil: Three hundred, comma, naught, one marks. 

Three hundred, and one hundredth marks. 

Three hundred marks, one pfennig. 

Thirty thousand, one pfennigs. 
Teacher: How do you write i Pf. as a decimal? 
Pupil: 0,01 M., naught, comma, naught, one mark. 
Teacher: How do you write 10 Pf. ? 
Pupil: 0,10 M., naught, comma, ten mark. 
Teacher: What is a fraction ? 

Pupil: A fraction is the simple or compound part of a whole. 
Teacher: What is the nimierator? 
Pupil: The numerator is the number which tells the parts which I have 

taken of the whole. It is above the line. 
Teacher: What is the denominator? 
Pupil: The denominator tells into how many parts the whole has been 

divided. It is below the line. 
Teacher: Out of how many wholes can a fraction come? 
Pupil: A fraction can be made up from one whole or several wholes. 
Teacher : What is f when derived from two wholes ? 
Pupil: f is f of 2, or I means 2 divided by 3. 
Teacher: Again. 

Pupil: f is ^ of 2, or § means 2 divided by 3. 
Teacher: Again. 

Pupil: f is ^ of 2, or f means 2 divided by 3, 
Teacher: What is |? 
Pupil: I is ^ of 4, or 4 divided by 5. 
Teacher: What is | ? 
Pupil: 



f is i of . 

Teacher: That is wrong. 

Pupil: I is I of 5, or 5 divided by 6. 

Teacher: What is |? 

Pupil: I is I of 7, or 7 divided by 8. 

Teacher: ^^7 

Pupil: j\ is ^ of 4, or 4 divided by 11. 

Teacher: What is y\? 

Pupil: ^j is -^j of 9, or 9 divided by 13. 

Teacher: What is ^V? 

Pupil: x®5 is J5 of 8, or 8 divided by 15. 



ARITHMETIC 387 

Teacher: I let a pitcher fall and it breaks into twelve equal pieces. I put 
them together. What have I ? 

Pupil: You would have a whole pitcher. 

Teacher: If I added two equal parts more? 

Pupil: Then you would have more than a whole pitcher. 

Teacher: Name a proper fraction. 

Pupil: f. 

Teacher: Name improper fractions. 

Pupil: -V and |i. 

Pupil: J^ and f. 

Pupil: f 

Teacher: Take a proper fraction and compare the numerator and the de- 
nominator. 

Pupil: The numerator is less than the denominator. 

Teacher: Take an improper fraction and compare the numerator and the 
denominator. 

Pupil: The numerator is larger than the denominator. 

Teacher: Summarize that. 

Pupil: In an improper fraction, the numerator is greater than the de- 
nominator; and in a proper fraction, the numerator is less than the 
denominator. 

Teacher: Repeat that again. 

Pupil: In an improper fraction, the numerator is greater than the de- 
nominator ; and in a proper fraction the numerator is less than the 
denominator. 

Teacher: Repeat that again. 

Pupil: In an improper fraction the numerator is less than the denom 

Teacher: That is wrong. 

Pupil: In an improper fraction the numerator is greater than the denomi- 
nator, and in a proper fraction the numerator is less than the denomi- 
nator. 

Teacher: Compare the two kinds of fractions with a whole. 

Pupil: An improper fraction is greater than a whole, while a proper frac- 
tion is less than a whole. 

Teacher: Take ^, what can we do with it? We can change it to a mixed 
number. What ? 

Pupil: \^ equals i^. 

Teacher: f? 

Pupil: I equals i|. 



388 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: f? 

Pupil: f equal i^. 

Teacher: What does f mean? 

Pupil: f means 9 divided by 8. 

Teacher: How do we change an improper fraction to a mixed number? 

Pupil: We divide the numerator by the denominator. 

Teacher: Change ^^- to a mixed number. 

Pupil: \V = 435 ^ 12 = 36 and 3 remainder = 36^^ or 36I. 

Geometry. Eighth Year. Girls 

Teacher: Draw a circle. 

Pupil: (Pupil draws a circle on the board.) 

Teacher: We always put the letter C at the center of a circle. 

Teacher: What is a circle ? 

Pupil: A circle is a plane bounded by a curved line all points of which 

are equidistant from a point within called the center. 
Teacher: What are the parts of a circle ? 

Pupil: The parts of the circle are the circumference and the area. 
Teacher: What is the radius? 

Pupil: The radius is a line drawn from the center to the circumference^' 
Teacher: What is the diameter ? 
Pupil: The diameter of a circle is a straight line which passes through the 

center and intersects the circumference at two points. 
Teacher: Compare the diameter and the radius. 
Pupil: The diameter is twice the length of the radius. 
Teacher: How often is the diameter contained in the circumference? 
Pupil: The diameter of a circle is contained 3| times in the circumference 

of that circle. 
Teacher: When we know the circumference of the circle, how do we find 

the diameter? 
Pupil: We divide the circumference of a circle by 3^ to find its diameter. 
Teacher : Read 3^ as a decimal. 
Pupil: 3.1416. 

Teacher: Draw a tangent to that circle. 
Teacher: Draw a chord. Can you show me a segment? Can you show 

me a sector? (Directions were carried out.) 
Teacher: The diameter of a table was two (2) meters. Each guest was 

allowed 60 cm. How many guests ? 
Pupil: 10^ guests. 



■ 



ARITHMETIC 389 

Teacher: How did you get that? 

Pupil: 3^ X 2 meters = 6} m. = 628 cm. Each"guest was given 60 cm., 
therefore, there were places for about 10^ guests. 

Teacher: We have taxicabs. What regulates price? 

Pupil: The price depends upon the distance traveled. 

Teacher: How does one determine the distance traveled? 

Pupil: The distance is determined by the number of revolutions made 
by the wheel, which are registered by a feather attached to the axle. 

Teacher: A wheel is i m. in diameter. How far will the wagon travel 
when the wheel turns once ? 

Pupil: 3f meters. 

Teacher: How far in 100 revolutions? 

Pupil: It will travel 314.16 meters. 

Teacher: In 200 revolutions? 

Pupil: It will travel 628.32 meters. 

Teacher: Who fixes the price for taxicabs? 

Pupil: The police. 

Teacher: One must have a permit in order to be allowed to operate a public 
cab. Every one may not do so. Before one is allowed to do so, one 
must give evidence of his ability to drive and show a certain knowledge 
of traffic rules and be thoroughly acquainted with the city. In case 
it is an auto taxicab, the chauffeur must pass an examination to demon- 
strate that he understands the machine and its operation. Only a 
fixed number of cabs are allowed to soHcit fares at any one cab stand, 
and all such cabs must be registered with the police. The price of 
fare is fixed for definite distance. The meter registers for one, two, 
or three persons. The minimum fare is 70 Pf. for the first 500 m. 
How far is that ? 

Pupil: That is about as far as from Schulzenstrasse to Ringstrasse. 

Teacher: Then a charge of 10 Pf. is made for every additional 200 m. 
Who decides the price ? 

Pupil: The police fix the price. 

Teacher: What registers the price? 

Pupil: The meter registers the price and the distance. 

Teacher: What determines the amount of the fare? 

Pupil: The distance traveled determines the fare. 

Teacher: The circumference of a taxicab wheel is 0.80 m. 
The first 500 m. costs 70 Pf. 
Each additional 300 m. costs 10 Pf. 



3 go PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The total fare was 2.80 M. How far did I travel? 

How many revolutions did the wheel make ? 
Pupil: The wheel was in circumference 3} X 0.80 m. = 2.51 m. or 2.5 m. 

Therefore, the wheel covered 2.5 m. in every revolution. 
Teacher: Does that help you find how far you went? 
Pupil: No. For .70 M., 500 m. were covered. That leaves 2.80 M. 

— 0.70 M. = 2.10 M. Each o.io M. pays for an additional 300 m. 

2.10 M. -^ 0.10 = 21. Hence, for 2.10 M. one travels 21 X 300 m. 

= 6300 m. 

6300 m. + 500 m. = 6800 m. = 6.8 km. 

Whence we find that one rides 6.8 km. for 2.80 M. 
Teacher: Put that on the board. On a chausee one would travel from the 

0.0 kilometer stone to the one marked 6.8 km. How many revolutions 

did the wheel make ? 
Pupil: The wheel would make as many revolutions as 2.5 m. is contained 

in 6.8 km. 2.5 m. = .0025 km. 
Teacher: No, there is an easier way. 
Pupil: We change 6.8 km. to meters. 6.8 km. = 6800 m. 68004-2.5 = 

68000 m. 4- 25 m. = 2720. Therefore, the wheel revolved 2720 times. 
Teacher: Why did you change 2.5 m. to 25 m.? 
Pupil: When I divide by a decimal, I always make the divisor a whole 

number. 
Teacher: Next we shall see how we reckon the area of a circle. The cir- 
cumference is really a straight line. The circumference is an infinite 

number of straight lines, each of which forms the base of a triangle, 

the apex of which is the center of the circle. (Exhibited a wooden 

circle broken into triangles.) 

Into what can we break up a circle ? 
Pupil: We can break up a circle into triangles. 
Teacher : This fact is of importance for the calculation of the area of a circle. 

How do we find the area of a triangle ? 

„ ^ ., ^, r ^ • 1 1 base X altitude h Xh 
Pupil: The area of a tnangle equals = . 

Teacher: The area of a triangle equals | of a parallelogram with the same 
base and altitude. If I wish to find the area of a circle, what is the 
height of the triangles which make up the circle ? 

Pupil : The radius would represent the height. 

Teacher: What would represent the base of the triangles? 

Pupil : The circumference of the circle represents the base of aU the triangles. 



ARITHMETIC 391 

Teacher: How then do I get the area of a circle ? 

Pupil: One could find the area of a circle by finding the area of all the 

triangles which make up a circle. 
Teacher: What becomes the base of all the triangles? 
Pupil: The circumference is the base. 
Teacher: What is the altitude? 
Pupil: The radius. 
Teacher: Let's write that as a formula. 

Pupil: = area of a circle. 

2 

Teacher: How do I find the area of a circle? 

Pupil. Multiply the radius by the circumference and divide the product 

by two. 
Teacher : How do I find the area of a circle ? 
Pupil: I don't know. 
Teacher: We multiply the radius by the diameter and then by 3.1416, and 

that is divided by two. Repeat that. 

Pupil: Area of circle = — — '^' ^ — . 

2 

Teacher : Again. 

Pupil: The area of a circle is equal to — — '^' ^ . 

2 

Teacher: Write that in your notebooks. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE REAL SUBJECTS 

There is a group of subjects in the curriculum of the Prussian 
Volksschule known by the general term Realien, real subjects. 
In this group we find history, geography, botany, zoology, physi- 
ology, chemistry, and physics. We shall take up each of these 
subjects separately and discuss the methods employed in their 
teaching. We shall try to base our remarks as nearly as possible 
upon the observational studies which we have made in elemen- 
tary schools in various sections of the kingdom. 

History 

In neither the higher nor lower schools was there any historical 
instruction during the sixteenth century. The study of history, 
. . according to educators of that time, belonged in the 
Develop- university. Comenius, in the seventeenth century, 
^^^ asked that history be taught in the vernacular schools, 

but his request had no effect on the actual introduction of the 
subject into the elementary curriculum. The Pietists were 
the first teachers to put history together with the other Realien 
in the Volksschule. These studies were designated as the "study 
of natural and other useful things." The General-Land-Schul- 
Reglement in 1763 made the Realien a part of the elementary 
course, but in spite of this fact there were no special periods set 
aside for work in history and the instruction consisted more or 
less in committing to memory dates and names, a practice 

392 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 393 

which has persisted down to the present time, though one finds 
very few teachers who consciously follow this method. Gen- 
erally there was no regular history text-book. 

The Philanthropinists contributed considerably to an improve- 
ment in the method in history. Previously history had been 
little more than learning names and dates, but the Philan- 
thropinists emphasized the influence of history upon the forma- 
tion of character, and necessarily demanded a method which 
would correspond to the aim which they had set. They required 
that the teacher tell the history to the children in a spontaneous 
and animated manner, and also that the work be made as objec- 
tive and concrete as possible. Basedow (17 23-1 790) recom- 
mended the use of the maps and pictures. His Elementarwerk 
was used for this latter purpose because it contained a number 
of historical illustrations. Salzmann made a still greater ad- 
vance, in that he connected the history of the community in 
which he lived with the other work. He also employed direct 
observation to enrich the character of his instruction, for exam- 
ple, visiting monuments, battlefields, and ruins. Still another 
step in advance by the Philanthropinists was the new practice 
of having the children repeat in class the history material which 
the teacher had told them. This method is still followed, although 
not with the best results. 

At the end of the eighteenth century there appeared quite a 
number of histories for children. By the aid of these books and 
the pulsing national feeling aroused by the War of Liberation, 
the interest for history was greatly strengthened. Up to this 
time the history of culture had found a very little place in the 
curriculum. The main topics were kings, conquests, and battles. 
And a very large part of the elementary school history in Germany 
to-day is concerned with the same subjects. The struggles at 
the beginning of the nineteenth century emphasized the warlike 
character of the history instruction in the schools, and there 



394 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

have been wars frequently enough in Germany to keep aUve 
this spirit until the present time. 

Harnisch (i 784-1864) was the creator of the subject known 

as Weltkunde, translated best as study or knowledge of the world. 

Weltkunde, on which Harnisch published a book in 

"Weltkunde • i 1 i i ■, r cc ' a 1 

181 7, mcluded the study of animals, plants, man- 
kind, history, minerals, peoples, and states." Under Weltkunde 
he made three divisions : study of the home, the nation, and the 
earth. The work in history was divided accordingly into the 
study of the home, the fatherland, and the world. The in- 
struction was arranged in concentric circles, beginning with 
that which was near and going to that which was far away, 
going from the known to the unknown. During the third and 
fourth decades there appeared several books on the method 
of teaching history and on the arrangement and choice of sub- 
ject matter. 

By the General Regulations of 1872 separate recitation periods 
were assigned to the various real subjects (history, geography, 
and science), which fact, indeed, marked a decided advance 
in the teaching of each of the subjects. Before this time the 
Realien had been treated as a unit, so to speak, but from the 
date of the new regulations, each of the subjects was treated 
in a more isolated and independent fashion. Instead of the 
reading book being used as a text for the Realien, sl new sort 
of text-book came into existence, which contained a section for 
history, one for geography, and other sections for each of the 
scientific subjects. This type of text-book has evidently proved 
itself to be of worth, for such texts are used in all German 
elementary schools to-day, though they are employed more for 
reference work than for class work. 

Since the federation of the German states in 1871, the chief 
task of history instruction in the elementary school has been 
the development of patriotism and a strong national feeling. 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 395 

It seems that the work in history accompHshes three things. 
It plants in the minds of the children the sense of German 
citizenship, love of country, and allegiance to and 
admiration of the ruHng house. One's impression Movements 
after visiting forty or fifty classes in history would be j^ history 
that the purpose of this subject was the glorification 
of the ruling house. One would think that the course was or- 
ganized around Charles the Great, the Great Elector, Frederick 
the Great, Frederick Wilhelm III, William the Great, and the 
present emperor. And, in fact, one would not be far wrong 
in drawing this conclusion, for the subject matter of the history 
course is largely the lives and deeds of these men. One hears 
not only of the wars and military achievements of these national 
heroes, but also of their works of peace. Just as in America, 
the history work is too much about battles, marches, and cam- 
paigns, but in a much greater degree than with us. It is very 
important for the German national policy that the children 
of the elementary school be enthusiastic for things military, 
because it is the boys of this school who become the soldiers 
in the ranks, and it is the girls of the Volksschule who become the 
mothers of German battaHons. The teachers do their work 
well. The history period is the livehest of the day. The teacher 
himself is burning with excitement and very often, as he relates 
to the children the story of Leipzig or Sedan, his voice becomes 
loud and his manner is more Hke that of a Fourth of July orator 
than that of a calm, quiet teacher. The children, however, 
are military and war-loving in spirit, and the girls are even more 
enthusiastic than the boys. It may have been only chance, 
but of all the sixty-four recitations which we have heard in his- 
tory, forty-eight of them dealt with rulers and their deeds as 
warriors, or with their campaigns. To any one who understands 
the national policy of the German empire, it is very clear why 
this military, patriotic spirit must be fostered. The reader 



396 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

must not think, however, that the battles and campaigns of the 
rulers are the only topics of discussion. Love for Kaiser and 
I\:therland is also engendered by a study of the reforms and 
movements undertaken by the ruling house for the benefit of 
the lower classes. The teachers emphasize these reforms to 
show the children how much their ruler loves them, to which 
the conclusion is that they should love and cherish their monarch 
in return, which no doubt they do. This nationalistic movement 
in history directs itself not only toward the ruler, but toward 
the Fatherland and all things German. Outside of, but still 
connected with love of ruler, there is inculcated in the heart of fi 
the German school child a German attitude of mind, that is, a 
love of all things German, a love of German customs and tra- 
ditions. He is not directly taught to hate the French or the 
English, but in discussing the frontiers which are open to attack, 
the teacher makes it very clear that Germany must not leave its 
western boundary unguarded. There is not an overstatement 
of fact or misrepresentation on the part of the teacher in order 
to estabUsh the German point of view or to convince the children 
of German superiority. The German point of view and feeling 
of superiority is established simply by ignoring the point of view 
of the French or English. It is very difficult to convey to an 
American who has not lived among Germans an idea of the 
intensity of the feeling for German customs, Hterature, history, 
power, country, and ruler. It is cultivated not only in history, 
but also in geography, Hterature, and song. 

But the reader must not think that this feeling of nationalism 
is the only one which is sought by the teachers of history. We 
should like to mention as next in prominence, the consideration 
given to the cultural development of the human race, chiefly, 
of course, among the Germans. Biedermann in the introduction 
to his ''Deutsche Volks- und KuUurgeschichte'' writes: ''Be- 
sides the stories of battles, wars, and treaties of peace, there should 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 397 

also be treated the most important facts concerning the history 
of the old German empire, the history of German cities, the 
growth of civil power, the development of German agricultuEe, 
trade, and industry, German inventions, German family life, 
and German art and science." This point of view has come to 
be accepted everywhere throughout Germany, so that now a 
great deal of time is devoted to giving the children a definite 
idea of the cultural development of their own country and also 
as far as possible of other countries in so far as they touch Ger- 
man life. This movement in history for the Volksschule has 
been represented by Albert Richter, Geistbeck, Krieger, and 
Kettel. 

There is still another tendency prominent in some of the schools 
which we have visited and that is to offer a kind of civil govern- 
ment (Burgerkunde) in connection with the history. Bilrger- 
kunde has in some schools become an independent subject, but 
this is not yet the general practice. It is likely to be a new 
subject some day, but new subjects do not find easy admittance 
into the German curriculum. The children are taught the 
constitution of the state, and their duties and rights as citizens ; 
more of duties, however, than of rights. The most important 
social and industrial laws are studied and the general conditions 
of social and industrial Hfe are discussed. In schools where a 
part of the history period is not given to the treatment of these 
subjects, such subjects are brought up at opportune times in 
the study of geography, history, science, and arithmetic. 

The Social-Democratic party is numerically the strongest 
in Germany and it forms the chief opposition to the government. 
It would not be an exaggeration to say that much Anti-Sodai- 
of the excellent social legislation, as well as industrial istic t end- 
legislation, of the last forty years, though coming History in- 
apparently from the benevolent and fatherly hands s*^"^*^^^ 
of the Hohenzollerns, has been forced through by the socialists. 



398 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

These measures have frequently been allowed to pass merely 
to satisfy the lower classes, and not because the rulers were 
especially beneficent. The emperor has been clever enough 
to see that to refuse certain measures would only endanger his 
own position by increasing the number of socialists and the sum 
total of discontent among the masses. In order to stem the tide 
of socialism which had been sweeping over the empire, and which, 
in spite of all efforts to combat it, is becoming stronger, the 
emperor issued an order in 1889 which instructed the schools to 
help in putting down ''socialistic and communistic ideas" at 
work among the people. It is among the parents of the children 
of the Volksschule that socialism finds its strength, so the govern- 
ment very naturally directed the elementary teacher to preach 
patriotism and conservatism. We quote part of the order ^ 
because it shows how definitely the aims and purposes of the 
Volksschule are set, which fact we believe to be one of the chiefest 
points of excellence in the German educational system. 

We have thought for a long time of making use of the schools in com- 
bating the spread of socialistic and communistic ideas. In the first place 
it is the duty of the school to lay the foundation for the healthy conception 
of political and social relations through the cultivation of the fear of God 
and love of country. But I cannot avoid the conviction that, in a time when 
socialistic errors and misconceptions are being spread with increased zeal, 
the school must make renewed efforts toward the advancement of a recog- 
nition of that which is true, of that which is real, and of that which is pos- 
sible in this world. The school must create in the youth the conviction 
that the doctrines of socialism are contrary not only to God's decrees and 
Christian moral teaching, but in reahty are incapable of application and 
destructive both to the individual and the state. The school must bring 
modern affairs more than heretofore into the curriculum, and show that the 
power of state alone can assure the individual his family, his freedom, and 
his rights ; and impress on the youth how Prussian kings have continually 
given themselves pains to better the conditions of the working-class from the 
time of the legal reforms of Frederick the Great and the abolishment of 

^ Allerhochste Ordre vom i Mai, 188 g, Zentralblatt, p. 245. 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 399 

serfdom down until to-day. Further the school must prove by means of 
statistical facts how materially and how constantly during this century 
the conditions of living and the wages among the working-classes have 
improved under our royal protection. 

Another interesting sidelight on the purpose and importance 
of history is the following : ^ 

These regulations do not need a special justification. The German 
people have the good fortune to possess a Fatherland, a ruling house, of 
whose history it can be proud. What was said in the time of Frederick 
the Great holds good to-day. The other nations envy the Prussians their 
king. Th§ industry and wonderful talent of patriotic historians have gone 
into all phases of German and Prussian history and presented it in a complete- 
ness of form which we have known heretofore only in the history of ancient 
peoples. There is before us an abundance of stirring events from the story 
of over five hundred years of uninterrupted labors of the Hohenzollems for 
their country and people. It would be base ingratitude toward the ruling 
house and against those great men, who have dedicated all their power and 
ability for the state both in war and in peace ; it would be a sin against the 
coming generation, if one should neglect to make it acquainted with the 
blessings which come to it by virtue of its allegiance to the Prussian state ; 
it would be also an injustice to the state itself, if an unpatriotic race were 
brought on. Wherefore, all the Prussian kings shall receive a prominent 
place in the instruction of Prussian youth ; and likewise shall the important 
men, who distinguished themselves in behalf of the king and Fatherland 
during the Wars of Liberation and those of Emperor William I, be set up 
as shining examples for the German youth. 

VON GOSSLER. 

The pecuhar thing is, however, that truth is not killed by- 
imperial decree any more than the conditions of industrial 
life have been really improved by the mandate of the em- 
perors. Authority gives way only under pressure. The result 
of this decree was that the socialistic forces were just that 
much the more antagonized, and sociaHstic principles that 
much the more discussed. The instruction in history was to 

1 Min. Erlass., 30 August, 1889. 



400 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

be so changed that the children would hate the name socialism 
and look upon it as an enemy of the great and glorious Father- 
land, which owed its greatness and glory to the Hohenzollern 
and the Lord. Socialism has come to have so much power that 
teachers, though they dare not openly avow its principles, neither 
dare openly to attack the party. 

The aim of the instruction in history has already been stated, 
but we wish to restate it because it is of the greatest importance. 
Aim f ^^^ '^^^ pupils shall be acquainted with the chief 
History facts in the development of the Fatherland, with the 
on j.^ijj^g house, and its most prominent members in 
earlier times, in order that the love of monarch and country 
be awakened in them. (2) History is to give the children an 
insight into the political, social, industrial, and moral conditions 
of the present in order that they may come to respect them. 
At the same time the children shall study the persons and per- 
sonalities by whom this historical development was furthered 
or hindered. (3) History serves in the formation of character. 
The ministerial order of January 31, 1908, says: 

As the aim of history instruction it must be kept securely in mind that 
the children are to leave school with the most important facts of national 
history fixed firmly in mind. To insure this, careful drill and constant, 
regular repetition of the chief dates are necessary. 

Now let us see what a typical history course in the elementary 
school is. History usually begins in the fourth year in school 
The Course ^nd continues until the end of the school. By an 
of study examination of th^ courses of study in the chapter 
on school organization, one will find that the work in history 
begins in the first year of the middle section and receives two 
recitation periods each week during the next five years. The 
following outline of topics is taken from the course of study 
of the elementary schools in Hannover, and is, as far as our 
observation carried us, fairly representative : 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 401 



Class 4. Fourth School Year 

1. The old Germans: Land, dwelling, occupation, education, and 
character; religion, Wotan, Donar, Ziu, Freya; giants, dwarfs, witches. 

2. Arminius, Germany's liberator. 

3. The Siegfried myth. 

4. The Cundry myth. 

5. Charles the Great : Stories of his life and career. 

6. Luther. 

7. Stories about Frederick the Great, Frederick William III, Queen 
Louise, William I, Frederick III, and William II. 



Class 3. Fifth School Year 

1. The old Germans : See class 3 ; tribal division, assembHes, courts, 
war, and religion. 

2. The Romans and Germans in war and in peaceful relations. 

3. Tribal migrations (Alaric and Attila). 

4. Boniface : The cloister (Marienwerder, Loccuon, cloisters which 
the children know). 

5. Charles the Great: Introduction of Christianity among the 
Saxons ; the courts, imperial administration, coronation. 

6. Henry I : Election ; building of the frontier forts ; victory over 
the Wendians and Hungarians. 

7. Otto I : Victory over the Hungarians ; Hermann Billung. 

8. Henry IV : Education ; struggle with the Saxons ; struggle with 
the pope. 

9. Knighthood and the feudal system (Ricklingen and Briiningstein 
castles) . 

10. The first crusade. Mohammed. 

11. Frederick Barbarossa. Destruction of Milan; Henry the Lion; 
Barbarossa's death. The results of the crusade. 

12. Rudolph of Hapsburg : Struggles against the robber barons; 
Hapsburg's power. 

13. The city of Hannover in the Middle Ages: Founding; Burg 
Lauenrode ; the city in 1400 ; attack on the city by Henry the Elder 
of Brunswick ; the Hanseatic League. 

14. Our ruling family. 

2 D 



402 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Class 2. Sixth School Year 

1. The most important inventions and discoveries of the Middle 
Ages. 

2. Maximilian I : Introduction of the first imperial tax; the postal 
system ; the internal peace ; names of places and people. 

3. (For Lutheran schools.) The Reformation by Luther, Zwingli, 
and Calvin. The Reformation in Hannover. 

4. (For Catholic schools.) The division of the church. Luther, 
Zwingli, Calvin, introduction of the Lutheran faith in Hannover. 

3 a. (For Lutheran schools.) The Counter-Reformation ; the Schmal- 
kaldian War ; the Jesuits. 

4 a. (For Catholic schools.) The religious revival in the Catholic 
church ; the Council of Trent. Missions. Foundation of new orders. 

5. The Thirty Years' War : Tilly, Wallenstein, Gustavus Adolphus ; 
Lower Saxony and especially Hannover in the war ; the Peace of West- 
phalia; civilization in Germany after the war (witchcraft). 

6. The first Hohenzollern in Brandenburg. 

7. Prussian and the German knighthood. Germanization of the 
eastern provinces. 

8. The Great Elector: Youth; foundation of a standing army; 
accessions by the Peace of Westphalia ; his interest in agriculture, com- 
merce and industry; the Huguenots; Wars with France and Sweden; 
Louise Henrietta. 

9. Ernest August, elector of Hannover; his wife, Sophie; Leibniz. 
George I, king of England (Herrenhausen, the palace of the Guelphs). 

10. Frederick I : Acquirement of the kingship. 

1 1 . Frederick William I : Personality, his work for the army, 
finance, elementary schools, governmental administration, agriculture, 
commerce, and industry ; the reception of the inhabitants of Salzburg. 

12. Frederick the Great: Youth, the Seven Years' War (chief 
battles from 17 56-1 760) ; first partition of Poland; his interest in agri- 
culture, legal reform, commerce, and industry; system of taxation; 
life in Sans Souci. 

13. Frederick William III : Second and third partitions of Poland. 
The Allgemeine Landrecht. 

14. Our imperial house. 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 403 

Class I. Seventh School Year 

1. The French Revolution : Causes, outbreak; Reign of Terror. 

2. Napoleon I, the Rhine League. (The occupation of Hannover 
and the German-English Legion.) 

3. Frederick WilHam III and Queen Louise. Prussia's fall. Con- 
tinental blockade. 

4. Prussia's regeneration: Stein, Hardenberg, Scharnhorst. The 
history of the peasantry, industry, and the army. 

5. Resistance to Napoleon: Hofer, Schill, Frederick William of 
Brunswick. 

6. Napoleon's campaign against Russia. 

7. The Wars of Liberation: York; appeal to the people; poets 
of freedom; the allies; battles at Katzbach and Grossbeeren; Leipzig; 
crossing of the Rhine ; Napoleon's fall ; the first peace of Paris ; Na- 
poleon's return ; battles at Ligny and Waterloo ; the second Peace of 
Paris; Napoleon at St. Helena; the Congress of Vienna; Hannover a 
kingdom. 

8. Frederick William III in peace : The Zollverein. 

9. Frederick William IV : The year 1848 ; the Prussian constitu- 
tion; the refusal of the imperial crown; his interest in art and litera- 
ture. 

10. Ernest August and George V of Hannover. 

11. William I as king: Bismarck, Roon, Moltke; the Danish War; 
the German War (Langensalza, Koniggratz) ; the North German League. 
The Franco-Prussian War: Cause; unity in Germany; the battles 
at Weissenburg, Worth, Spichern, Metz, and Sedan; sieges of Metz, 
Strassburg, Paris, and Belfort; the establishment of the new German 
empire ; peace of Frankfurt. 

12. William I as Emperor: Constitution of the German empire; 
historical development of trade and industry (Krupp and Egestorff), 
trade and commerce; social legislation; acquirement of colonies, Wil- 
liam's death ; Empress Augusta. 

13. Frederick III. 

14. William II: Love of peace; his work for the army and navy and 
the working classes ; campaign in China ; revolt in Southwest Africa ; 
civil legal code ; Empress Augusta Victoria. 

15. Civil Government. 

{a) History of the school, judicial, and taxation systems. 



404 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

(6) The Prussian state. 

The rights and privileges of the King. Rights and duties 
of Prussian citizens. The Landtag (legislative body). 
Administration of the central government. Local self- 
* government. Expenditures and revenues of the state. 

(c) The German empire. 

The emperor's rights. Rights and duties of German 
citizens. The Bundesrat and Reichstag. Imperial ad- 
ministration. Army and navy. Judicial system. Ex- 
penditures and revenues of the empire. 

This course of study also prescribes the dates to be learned 
each year. In all there are fifty-nine dates which the child is 
supposed to remember and know the significance of, when he 
has finished the school. One must also remember that, although 
regular history work begins in the fourth year, the children have 
had historical myths and stories in the earlier years, as well as 
having had a great deal about the history of their own city or 
province either in connection with reading or Heimatkunde (q.v.). 

As has already been said, there are some of the fundamental 
facts and principles of social economy and civil government 
given in connection with history and other subjects, wherever 
and whenever it seems most advantageous to present them. 
The following is a further extract from the Hannover course of 
study ^ covering this point. The place in the course where the 
subjects are treated is indicated. 

1. Work: Forms of work, division of labor, reward and wages. 
(In connection with the seventh commandment.^) 

2. Property: Individual and common property. (Seventh com- 
mandment.) 

3. Money: Valuation, gold coins, paper money, negotiable paper. 
Savings accounts, banks. — Arithmetic in the first class (eighth school 
year). 

1 Lehrplan fur die Burgerschulen der koniglichen Haupt- und Residenzstadt Rati' 
nover. Cruse's Buchhandlung, 1913, p. 43. 

2 xhe commandments are arranged differently in the Lutheran catechism. 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 405 

4. Insurance: Fire, hail, life, military, sick, accident, invalid, and 
old age insurance. Arithmetic in the first and second classes. 

5. Economic conditions in Germany : Geography in the first class. 

(a) Population. 

(b) Products (agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fishing, 

mining, house and factory industry. Germany's depend- 
ence upon foreign countries). 

(c) Trade (domestic, imports and exports). 

(d) Transportation and communication (railways, postal system, 

telegraph, ship lines, telephone). Arithmetic, first class. 
{e) Protection of German labor (duties, commercial treaties). 

6. History of civil progress. — History, first class. 

(a) The peasantry; (b) middle class; (c) trade and industry; 
(d) commerce ; {e) army and navy ; (/) schools ; (g) courts ; 
(h) taxation. 

7. The family. Fourth and sixth commandments. First Article, 
(o) Members of the family; {b) authority and guardianship; 

(c) registration of marriage, births and deaths; (d) serv- 
ants ; (e) compulsory school law ; (/) trade or occupation ; 
(g) the will ; {h) the family budget. — Arithmetic in the 
first class. 

8. The community. — Geography in the second class. 

(a) Meaning and duties of the community ; (b) duties and rights 
of citizens ; (c) administration of the community ; (d) budget 
of the community — arithmetic in the first class ; (e) the 
church and community. The Third Article. 

9. The Prussian state. — • History in the first class. 

{a) The king's rights and privileges. — (The same as noted above 
in the history course of study.) 
10. The Empire. History in the first class, (The same as above, 
with a consideration of the courts taught in connection with religion.) 
Duties toward the life of our fellows : murder, injury, adulteration of 
food. (Fifth commandment.) The honor and reputation of our neigh- 
bor; confidence, falsehood, perjury (second and eighth commandments). 
The property of our neighbor : theft and deception, embezzlement 
(seventh commandment). 

It will have been noticed that the system in Hannover has 
only seven classes. Some schools, however, have an eighth 



4o6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

grade or an Oherklasse, and when this is the case, the subject 
matter as we have given it above for the first class is extended 
a Httle, a few more topics inserted, and divided into two years* 
work. In the chapter on chemistry and physics, instead of 
giving the course for the first class, we shall give a two years* 
course which is for the first class and the upper class {Oherklasse) . 

School authorities have a very definite purpose which the 
teaching of history in the Volksschule has to accomplish, that is, 
to instill patriotism, love of ruler, and national pride 
Worth of in the hearts and minds of the children. History 
u jec j^^g|- gjyg ^]^g children the belief that Germany is the 
greatest, most cultured, most beneficent nation in the world. 
Every topic in the course of study is selected with this aim in 
view. Whether a fact or topic shall or shall not be given a place 
in the curriculum is judged solely on this basis. A close study 
of various history courses bears out the truth of this statement. 
Only after observation of the actual methods employed in 
teaching history, and of the spirit with which it is done, does one 
recognize that war and valor are the German's religion, that the 
greatness of Germany is his ruling desire. The test for every 
topic in the course is, — Does it function in making the pupil 
a German in every sense of the word ? 

As a rule the course in history consists of two sub-courses, a 

preparatory course and the chief course. The preparatory course 

in reality begins as far down in the school as the first 

Two ^ o 

Divisions or sccond year and covers the third and sometimes the 
m History fourth year. The content of this elementary course 
is fairy tales, stories, and myths of the immediate 
vicinity, monuments, public buildings of historic interest, and 
something of the most prominent members of the ruling house. 
The content of the main course is given above in detail. 

In the lower section a subject known as Heimatkunde (study 
of the home) makes preparation for the later work both in 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 407 

geography and history. Briefly, Heimatkunde presents to the 
pupils all the historical and geographical facts of elementary 
nature with which the children come in contact, and 
of which they have heard since infancy. They learn the Home 
the physical characteristics of the immediate vicinity, ^^^^*' 
of its rivers, bridges, churches, and the most im- 
portant facts in its history. They acquire also some knowl- 
edge of the emperor and his family, and of the ruling house. 
This work is frequently given in connection with the observation 
instruction mentioned in the chapter on German. 

The course in Heimatkunde is often the same as the prepara- 
tory course in history during the second and third years, but 
not after the third year, when a definitely planned 
history course is given. Some of the topics given in Heimat- 
in Heimatkunde at Hildesheim are as follows : 

1. The governmental district and its neighboring vicinity. 

{a) The schoolhouse, its location, the directions, the school yard, 
the street. 

2. The city of Hildesheim. 

(a) The cathedral, myth concerning its founding. 

(b) The chief post office. 

(c) Important buildings on Cathedral Square. 
{d) Streets near the cathedral. 

{e) Godehardi Square. History of the neighborhood. 

(/) Godehardi church. 

{g) District court. 

(h) New city market and Lamberti Square. 

{i) Sedan Street and its history. 

(/) The railway station. 

These are only a few of the topics treated in a geographical 
and historical way. Such a preparation thoroughly 
equips the children for their future work in geography Organiza- 
and history, both of which subjects begin just where subject 
the study of the home left off. Matter 



1 



4o8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

One finds the subject taken up in many different ways. Some 

of the methods of organization will be mentioned. Frequently, 

the subject matter is treated chronologically. This 

TheChron- n i • -.i • • t^t, 

oiogicai method is either progressive or regressive, ihe 
Order progressive type is similar to that organization em- 

ployed in America. Its chief fault lies in the fact that the more 
recent events are never reached. The regressive chronological 
method is sometimes employed in the lower classes with very | 
good results, working back, for instance, from the present kaiser 
to his father, grandfather, and so on. 

Some teachers make a slight variation of the progressive 

chronological order of treatment which emphasizes the sequence 

of events by laying stress on the contemporaneity 

The Syn- > ^ r • • j 

chronous of thmgs. This Order of presentation is not so good 

^^^^^ for the elementary school, inasmuch as it is better 

suited for universal history, which is not adapted for the purpose 

of the subject in the Volksschule. 

Occasionally one finds a course of study organized on the 

group basis, which presents historical material in groups. On 

this basis events and men of like character or nature 

The Group- treated together. For example, Arminius, Wash- 

ing Plan ° ^ ' J • J 

ington, Kosciuszko, and Julius Caesar would be studied 

one after the other. The same plan would be followed with 

regard to discoveries, inventions, or social reforms. At the 

end of such a course, the whole is summarized by a chronological 

review of the topics discussed, and historical principles are thus 

developed. This plan is now regarded as out of date. It never 

had very wide acceptance, chiefly because such a treatment 

tore the historical sequence all to pieces, and tended to cause 

confusion in the children's minds as to the relation of various 

events. M\ 

The concentric circle plan of arrangement of subject matter 

is found in very general use to-day in the Volksschule. The 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 409 

subject matter is arranged in three expanding concentric circles, 
of which the inmost one presents the most important charac- 
ters and facts of modern, medieval, and ancient ^^ ^ 

' ' . The Con- 

times. The second circle presents the less impor- centric 

tant characters and facts, and intensifies the topics ^^^ ^ 
treated before. The third circle includes the least important 
characters and facts, i.e. those which come least often to the 
attention of pupils. The advantages of this plan are : that pupils 
who do not finish the whole course of the school become ac- 
quainted with the most important historical facts, and that 
every year new material is treated. The most serious disad- 
vantage entailed by the concentric plan of organization is that 
the child's psychological nature does not coincide fully with this 
organization. The majority of the school men in Germany 
do not hold rigidly to the concentric circle theory in history, 
but believe that it is necessary that the chief facts be gone over 
a second or third time in different parts of the course. It is 
usual to find that a study of the period from the Great Elector 
on is treated for the second time in the last class. 

Another form of organization is also found at times, — the 
combining method. The work in history is made a part of the 
work in geography, or some other subject. When, 
for example, the geography of a certain province is bining 
studied, the history of that province is also studied ^ ° 
intensively. As a result of this method of organization, each 
of the subjects loses its identity, and neither receives its due 
attention. The only principle of worth involved here is that 
history should always have its geographical basis firmly fixed, 
but this should not be carried to an extreme. 

The Herbartians in Germany reject the concentric circle 
plan of organization and divide the subject matter in history 
according to the epochs in the cultural development of the 
race. According to this plan, new material is treated each 



4IO PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS | 

year. In the third and fourth years the children have German 
myths ; in the fifth year, the high points in German national | 
Th c ^^^^' ^^^"'^ ^^ Arminius, Clovis, Boniface, Charlemagne, I 

Epoch Or- Henry I, and Otto I ; in the sixth year, the migra- 
gamza ion ^.^^ ^^ ^-^^ races, empire and papacy, crusades, knight- 
hood, the Hanseatic League ; in the seventh year, the discoveries, 
the Reformation, the Thirty Years' War ; in the eighth year, 
Prussian downfall, the War of Liberation, reestablishment of 
the empire. Only those events are chosen which in the light of 
present events are educative. This limits the material and 
topics taken up considerably. The advantages of this organiza- 
tion are : that the particular historical periods chosen can be M\ 
thoroughly treated because of their limited number, and events 
chosen in view of their present worth are suited to arouse the 
interest of the children. At first the topics are generally taken 
up in the regressively chronological order. Another important 
thought in this plan of organization is that of "high spots" in 
history instruction. All the historical material groups itself 
about the "high spots" in the course, so that the child gets a 
perspective from which the inner connection of the whole is 
visible. To take an example : 

Rein, Pickel, and Scheller^ in the treatment of German history begin 
with Henry I, because his history offers simple relationships. Then follows 
as the ''high spot," Otto I. The thought that the latter took Charlemagne 
as his model, and the question of how Saxony came over to Christianity, 
lead backwards to this second "high spot." Boniface won over the German 
tribes to Christendom, while Clovis won over the Franks. At the end the 
whole material from Arminius to Otto I is run through again chrono- 
logically. 



Thus the content is treated only once thoroughly. The 
starting point is usually an historical poem, and great use is 
made of the sources. 

1 Schwochow, Methodik des Volksschidunterrichts, p. 400. 



I 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 411 

The Herbartians have rendered great service in developing 
history instruction in the elementary schools. This school of 
pedagogical thinkers conceives of history instruction as in- 
struction intended for formation of moral character and assigns 
it the most important place in the whole curriculum next to 
religion. According to their plan the historical development 
is set parallel alongside the development of individuals, the 
dangers of the concentric circle plan are avoided, the idea of 
"high spots" is made use of, a preparatory course in myths 
is afforded, the culture epochs of the racial development are 
given consideration, sources and poems are helpfully employed, 
and the teaching is based on the five formal steps. 

Not any one of the plans of organization mentioned above 
is carried out in its entirety in the German Volksschule. The 
courses generally are a composite of all these schemes of organi- 
zation of subject matter, but one might say that the concentric 
circle plan, modified somewhat by the Herbartian scheme, is the 
one most in use in Germany to-day. 

The biographical plan in history has to do with the organi- 
zation, but perhaps more with the manner in which the whole 
subject is presented. History is considered merely Bio- 
as a series of biographies, the hves of the world's or^aniw- 
greatest men. This point of view in history is very tion 
practical and is widely accepted in all schemes of organization 
of history subject matter. The biographical treatment of his- 
tory is particularly apphcable in the lower section and it is found 
in use in nearly all German elementary schools. 

Going over from the subject of organization of material to 
methods of instruction, it can be said at the outset that the five 
formal steps, as set forth by Herbart and modified pive Formal 
by Rein and Ziller, dominate the history work of ^*®p^ 
the present day. Almost every lesson we observed had its steps 
of preparation, presentation, association, generalization, and 



412 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

application. Frequently these steps appear only in modified 

1. Prepara- form. The most common type of preparation is a 
tion review of the previous lesson. This is generally the 
case when the lesson is one of a series deahng with a special 
topic. When the lesson is one that takes up new material, 
the preparation for the lesson generally finds its starting point 
in a historical poem, or in historical material treated in an earlier 
grade. Frequently the preparation or introduction to the new 
work is tied up with some fact of local interest which is known 
to all the pupils ; for example, names of streets, old buildings, 
churches, monuments, pictures, folk-songs, children's rhymes. 
At this point the German teacher usually fails to make use of 
the child's desire to do independent work, and rarely intrusts 
the child with working out the preparation by himself. This 
is one of the great weaknesses of the German system, at least 
from our point of view. The stenographic lessons at the end 
of the chapter will illustrate these various methods of prepara- 
tion. 

Teachers who are thoroughly Herbartian generally begin 
a new topic by reading aloud or having the children read some 

2. Presen- source material on the point in question. After this 
tation j^g^g been done, the children and the teacher work 
out the historical facts and principles together. Only a small 
percentage of the teachers in the elementary schools follow this 
plan, because it is thought that the method mentioned takes 
too much time and is really beyond the abiHty of the pupils. 
All teachers readily admit the value of source material in teaching 
history, but the majority prefer to use the sources only as a means 
of illustration. 

As in other subjects, so also in history, the lecture method 
of presenting the subject is the most commonly accepted one. 
This method, however, requires special preparation on the part 
of the teacher^ and is absolutely useless in the hands of teachers 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 413 

who do not believe heart and soul in the truth of the sub- 
ject matter which they are presenting. In this particular 
respect the German teacher is remarkably well quali- 
fied, for all of them are intensely patriotic. The Method of 
American elementary school teachers rarely throw P^esenta- 
themselves body and soul into the portrayal of an his- 
torical situation. Many of our teachers appear ashamed to lose 
themselves in patriotic enthusiasm, and most of them are incapa- 
ble of it. One finds no lack of patriotism among the German 
teachers. Germany is the one great Hving reahty to them. 
We have never seen a single recitation in history in a German 
Volksschule in which the teacher did not fairly burn with patriotic 
zeal as he related the story of his country's greatness and glory. 
They feel that it is their sacred duty to make their pupils patriotic 
German citizens, and history affords them the best opportunity 
for this work. 

One of the most striking examples of this enthusiasm which 

it was our privilege to see, was found in a school at S . It 

was the i8th of April, 1914, the fiftieth anniversary of the fall 
of the Diippel forts, dmring the war against Denmark in 1864. 
An order had been sent out from BerKn that this day should be 
celebrated in every school throughout Prussia. The class was 
composed of about fifty girls in the eighth year (highest grade). 
The teacher began the lesson by telHng the children of the mean- 
ing of the day and said that he would read them a poem which 
dealt with an incident which took place exactly fifty years before 
the present date. Before he read them the poem he related, 
with the pupils' aid, the events which led up to the Danish- 
Prussian War, and gave the reasons which justified Prussia in 
making war upon its small and weaker neighbor. Next, 
something was told about each of the German commanders. 
Then by means of a drawing the teacher described the battle- 
field and the almost impregnable forts which had to be overcome 



414 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

by the Prussians and Austrians before the Danes could be beaten. 
Working gradually toward a climax, and with his voice all 
tense with emotion, he pictured the night before the battle, the 
terrific cannonading, and the final assault which won the day. 
The success of the assault was determined by a private who 
sacrificed his fife to make a breach in the wall by exploding a 
sack of powder which he was carrying. The poem dealt with 
this incident. 

The teacher knew the poem, which was six or seven stanzas 
in length, and recited it with fervor and enthusiasm. Each 
stanza ended with the lines, 

Der Feind ist geschlagen 
Und Schleswig ist frei. 

Next he repeated the first stanza twice and then called on one 
of the girls to try to repeat it, which she did very creditably. 
Then the whole class repeated it with the teacher, and again 
individually. The entire class learned three stanzas in the one 
hour. After the class was dismissed, the girls, while walking in 
the corridors, were heard repeating the poem and emphasizing 
particularly the recurring lines, 

Der Feind ist geschlagen 
Und Schleswig ist frei. 

Although the German teachers exhibit great enthusiasm and 
patriotism in their work in history, they also stick very closely 
(6) Histori- to the historical truth in the matter. Though the 
cai Accuracy emperors and kings are praised, their faults are also 
spoken of. Their virtues, however, outweigh their faults. This 
is another point our American history teachers would do well 
to remember, particularly in treating the Civil War. 

^ A visitor is struck with the excellent delivery shown 

by the German teacher in presenting material to his 

pupils. The presentation is fluent and dignified, and always 



I 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 415 

in such language as is fitted to the comprehension of his 
hearers. This type of teacher is the general rule. There are 
some who declaim and thunder at their classes and give one the 
impression more of a Fourth of July orator than a school- 
teacher. 

The next two steps are ordinarily united in present-day prac- 
tice. This in general amounts to a series of questions upon the 
material which has been presented and any necessary 
explanations, just as in other subjects. Illustrations sociation 
of this can be found in the stenographic lessons. *^^,.^®f' 

^ *=^ ^ ^ eralization 

Source material is often used at this point to clarify 
some topic. Poems and selections from the reader are used 
by way of intensification of treatment. Most of all the teacher 
makes use of review. For example, if the lesson is about com- 
pulsory mihtary service, the topic can be tied up to, and com- 
pared with, related topics going back as far as the arriere-ban 
among the early Germans, and the reorganization of the army 
after the peace of Tilsit down to the present time. The broad 
conclusions are generally drawn by the teacher and are learned 
merely as any other fact is learned. Very Httle opportunity 
for independent thought is given. 

This step is very frequently not formally taken up at all. 
The whole process is in a way its application. The application 
is generally to show the greatness of Germany, how 5. Appiica- 
the kings have taken care of their people, and how *^°^ 
the people may benefit from patriotic, faithful service. Fre- 
quently, the application is made by asking the pupils how this 
or that historical event affects them or the social fabric in which 
they Hve. Sometimes moral lessons, which are drawn from the 
lives of historical personages, are applied to the lives of the 
children. In the main, however, the application touches some 
phase of that citizenship which is the best possible for the Ger- 
man state. 



4i6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

No matter what the general theory of instruction may be, 
repetition claims the largest part of the time. The teacher 
Re etition ^^^^^ ^^^ pupils the information and then requires 
them to repeat it, summarize it, and repeat it over 
and over again until he is satisfied that they know the facts 
thoroughly. The observer is not always convinced that the 
children know the meaning of what they have recited, but it 
is certain that they know facts. As aids in this repetition the 
teacher frequently writes the chief dates on the board, as well 
as several sentences which summarize the different topics in the 
lesson. The ministry in BerHn requires that the children know 
the most important facts and chief dates in their national history. 
Usually these facts and dates are drilled while the topics are 
being discussed, and also at other times as an independent drill 
exercise, entirely divorced from all subject matter. Repetition 
forms a part of almost each lesson. The first ten minutes of 
each hour is usually devoted to a review of previous work. A 
general repetition of the main points is required at the end of 
the treatment of each large topic. 

Whatever may be said for or against this type of teaching, 
it gets the result desired, for the children do acquire the facts, 
and from the process they get a large portion of German patriot- 
ism, although they might acquire a still more reasonable patriot- 
ism if they were not required to spend such a large part of their 
time in memorization and were allowed to think and act for 
themselves. 

There is no separate history text-book. The Realienbuch 
is a science reader which contains sections on history, geography, 
Text-books ^^^^^g^"' physics, chemistry, and physiology. These 
books are usually adopted throughout the whole of 
an administrative county, although an entire province may use 
the same text. This science reader is seldom read by the pupils 
at all. Many pupils have told us that they never read in it 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 417 

more than once or twice a month, and then only for review. A 
series of topics, generally the commonest facts in history, are 
briefly treated in this book. The children have little use for 
the text-book, because the teachers present to them in class 
the same material and more of it, and usually in much better form. 
These texts are rarely ever illustrated, and in case they are, 
only very poorly. As far as we observed, the children in the 
German school would be just as well off without the Realienhuch 
as with it, as far as the history section is concerned. In this 
respect the Germans surpass us. They are not slaves to a text- 
book. The reason is plain to see. Their teachers are trained, 
while many of ours are not, and hence we need a text, in order 
that the children may at least learn something. The Germans 
have also something to learn in regard to text-books, because 
a good text-book is a help even to a highly trained teacher. 

A section of the German reader is given over to history, in 
which are to be found fables, myths, biographical sketches, 
and historical selections in prose and poetry, which History in 
are used to supplement the regular historical material *^® Readers 
given by the teacher or found in the Realienhuch. The historical 
selections found in the German reader are generally of a better 
character than those found in the Realienhuch, because the 
former are generally written by standard writers, while the 
latter are not. 

Besides these two sources of history material, there are quite 
a number of historical readers, which are used in a supplemen- 
tary way. This practice is not very general. None Historical 
of the history text is used to any extent to help the Readers 
child prepare his lesson. He learns his lesson in school from his 
teacher, and then uses the text to supplement what he has gotten 
there. 

The spoken word of the teacher does more than anything 
else to make the history instruction concrete. It is the best 
2 E 



41 8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

means of illustration which one finds in the work in the Volks- 
schule. The story or event as related by the German history 
Illustrative teacher is vibrating with life. It paints the event in 
Matenai vivid colors. The battle, the charge, or the storm- 
ing of the fortress appears in their childish imaginations as almost 
real. The map is one piece of material which is inva'riably 
present. Any one acquainted with the excellence of German 
maps will understand what a valuable aid the maps are in 
history work. A boy is never allowed to talk about a place 
of which he does not know the location. Naturally history is 
very closely correlated with geography, and the teacher never 
fails to show the way in which history has been affected by geo- 
graphical phenomena or principles. Maps are largely used to 
explain the expansion of Prussia. Such maps are usually ar- 
ranged in series, or so printed in color that the pupils can see 
at a glance the territorial growth of Prussia and the German 
Empire. Then one sees a great many maps used to show the 
plans of famous battles. 

When maps are not practicable, the teacher takes advantage 
of his ability to draw. If the map does not show the arrange- 
Piansand ment of troops in the battle, the teacher simply 
Sketches sketches it on the board and simplifies his work im- 
mensely. There are also a great number of printed sketches 
or plans of battles, campaigns, expeditions, and the like, which 
many teachers use quite extensively. 

Historical pictures are also used. Every German schoolroom 

has a picture of the present emperor, and generally Emperor 

William I, the present empress, and Bismarck. Some 

Picttires i T r V. . . 

rooms have other famous Germans. Besides pictures 
of individuals almost every school possesses pictures to illustrate 
life among the early Germans : feudalism, knights, old German 
towns, famous battles, fortresses, and many other topics of 
historical interest. Such illustrative material is published 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 419 

very cheaply and in great quantities, so that there is scarcely 
a school, in the town or in the country, that does not have a 
sufficient supply. 

A few of the larger cities have school museums, while almost 
every city of any considerable size has general museums with 
collections of educational interest. One of the best ,, 

Museums 

school museums is located at Hannover. It con- 
tains collections of ethnological characters, miniature models 
of the old German home, the German camp, the old Roman 
city, and the like. The general museums usually are much 
better equipped for history work than are the school museums, 
which devote most of their collections to the study of geography 
and the natural sciences. One finds ordinarily in the city mu- 
seums historical paintings, cannons, flags, weapons of all sorts, 
statues of famous men, all of which make very excellent illus- 
trative material for the elementary history work. School ex- 
cursions are frequently made to the museums, just as they are to 
places of historical interest, and with very excellent results. The 
time for such excursions is taken from the regular school work, 
though occasionally these trips may fall on the free afternoons. 
Closely bound up with the history work is some instruction 
in practical citizenship. It deals with the rights and duties of 
the citizen. This work is generally handled in the _. . , 

° -^ Civics and 

hour assigned to history, but such is not always the Political 
case. The general course of study rarely contains ^^^°^^ 
an outline of the topics to be treated, but the necessary points 
are usually scattered through the history course. The subject 
is a mixture of the elements of civics and of economics {Volks- 
wirtschaftslehre and Burgerkunde), 

The course given below outlines the topics usually taught 
which relate to civics or political economy. Course 

1. Work: kinds, division and reward (the seventh commandment). 

2. Property : individual and common. 



420 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

3. Money: gold, silver, paper, notes, bills of exchange, banks, sav- 
ings institutions (given in arithmetic in the eighth year) . 

4. Insurance: fire, hail, life, military, sick, accident, invalid, old 
age insurance (arithmetic, eighth year) . 

5. The economic conditions in Germany (geography in eighth 
year). 

(a) Population. 

(b) Products: agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fisheries, 

mining, home industry, factory industry, Germany's depend- 
ence on foreign countries. 

(c) Commerce : domestic trade, imports, exports. 

(d) Transportation : railroads, post, telegraph, telephone, steam- 

ships. 

(e) Protection of German labor : tariffs, commercial treaties. 

6. Development of social institutions: (History, eighth year). 
Peasant class, citizenship, and suffrage, industry, commerce, and trade, 
transportation, army and navy, school system, courts, and taxation 
system. 

7. The family: members of the family, guardianship, registrar's 
oflSce (marriages, deaths, births), servants, compulsory school attendance, 
occupations, wills, and family budget (arithmetic, eighth year). 

8. The community : meaning and purpose of the community, duties 
and rights of the citizens, income and expenses of the community, ad- 
ministration of the local government, church relationships of the com- 
munity. 

9. The Prussian kingdom: rights and privileges of the king, rights 
and privileges of Prussians, the house of representatives {Landtag), 
state administration, income and expenses. 

10. The German empire : the rights of the emperor, rights and duties 
of Germans, the Bundesrat and Reichstag, imperial administration, 
army and navy, income and expenses; judicial system, which treats 
of the duties of one to his neighbors' life (murder, bodily injury, and 
adulteration of foods) ; duties relating to the honor and good name of 
one's fellows (trust, falsehood, and perjury) ; duties toward our neigh- 
bor's property (theft and deception). 

Each one of these topics is taken up in the subject where it 
fits best and is clearly discussed and explained. There is no 
attempt made to explain to these children of the Volksschule 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 421 

all the unending intricacies of German government. Enough is 
explained to enable a citizen of the lower class to understand 
in a fundamental way those parts of the governmental 
system with which he comes in intimate contact. 
The pupil is brought to recognize the valuable protection and 
good which the state furnishes him, and he is taught very specif- 
ically that he owes certain obligations to the state for that pro- 
tection. If the state assures the safety of his home and city, 
he must be willing to serve in the army which affords the pro- 
tection. 

The pupil acquires here a very definite idea of respect for 
law and authority, and he acquires actual practice in respecting 
law and authority in his daily hfe, for German laws are respected 
and they are enforced. And it is just at this point that the most 
striking difference between America and Germany exists. We 
run along without ever thinking much about the law, while the 
Germans are a law-directed people. It extends down into the 
little things of life which might be annoying to us, but which 
might improve our standards somewhat if we would do the 
same things on our own initiative. The German does not tear 
up paper and throw it in the street; he does not litter vacant 
lots with garbage and refuse ; he does not steal flowers or dis- 
figure shrubbery in public parks; and he does not do a great 
many other uncouth things v/hich we do here in America. It 
is not, however, due to a rigorous supervision by the police now. 
The present-day German has been educated out of such things. 
Somewhere he has acquired a certain sort of civic pride which 
requires him to protect and respect public property. Some- 
where he has acquired a civic pride which makes him keep 
his home neat and in good repair. One would have to search 
diligently in Germany to find a tumbledown town or village, 
while one has to search infinitely more to find one in America 
that is not dilapidated wholly or that has not some dilapidated 



42 2 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

section. The German law does not require such spick and 
span cities. It is the German ideal, obtained somewhere in 
their system of education, that performs these miracles, and 
the course in civics and economics contributes to quite a 
large extent this quality of civic pride and responsibihty which 
is so urgently needed here in America. The German begins 
by having his school and church as clean and attractive as 
limited means will permit. How does it contrast with our 
school and church ? Though our condition in regard to appear- 
ance of public schools is rapidly improving, we are now in many 
respects far behind the Germans. 

History teaching in the Volksschule calls for too little activity 
on the part of the pupil. The protagonists of the "work-school" 
{Arheitsschule) charge the ordinary school-teacher with believing 
that his task is accomphshed when the children have acquired 
certain facts, names, and dates. From our observation this is 
often true, and almost all of the teachers of history insist on a 
great deal of memory work, but at the same time they redeem 
this fault by their intense patriotism and enthusiasm. Though 
the whole effect of the work in history makes the German child 
patriotic and conscious of his country's greatness, his individuality 
is left dwarfed and undeveloped by lack of opportunity for in- 
dependent thought. One hears a great deal of talk about de- 
veloping the individuaUty of the children, but one rarely finds 
opportunity in a Volksschule for the children to really express 
themselves. In the Arheitsschule at Dortmund we saw a real 
attempt to let the pupils do things for themselves in history. 
They drew their own maps, they made their own sketches, they 
modeled their own forts in the sand table and tried to give 
some expression to the historical conceptions which they had 
acquired. 

As far as the purposes of governmental and national policy 
are concerned, history is the most important subject in the 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 423 

entire elementary school curriculum. In trying to make an 
estimate of the worth of the subject, it can be said that it 
fully accomplishes its purpose in making patriotic 
Germans out of the pupils in the Volksschule. Natu- 
rally, history is not the only factor that contributes to this end, 
but it is the most important one. The German government 
started out a half century ago with the intention of making its 
citizenship the most intelligent and the most chauvinistic in the 
world, and it has accomphshed its purpose. Herein Hes the lesson 
for America. We must fix our national purposes and then mold 
the coming generations definitely, concretely, toward that end. 

History. Fifth Year 

Teacher: What prince were we speaking of last time? 

Pupil: We spoke of Emperor William I. 

Teacher: What relation was he to Emperor William H? 

Pupil: He was the grandfather. 

Teacher: Tell me of the youth of William I. 

Pupil: His early youth was very happy, but during the time of Prussia's 
defeat he was sad because he saw his mother weeping. The French 
were in the land and the Prussians could not save it. The queen was 
forced to flee, but she still trusted in God. She said, "Because we have 
deserted Him, have we been cast down," 

Teacher: Who was the eldest brother of William I? 

Pupil: His eldest brother was Frederick WilUam IV. 

Teacher : When did he reign ? 

Pupil: He reigned from 1840 to 1858. 

Teacher: Why didn't he reign until i860? 

Pupil: William I was appointed regent on account of his brother's illness. 

Teacher: William I was thoroughly a soldier. How old was he when his 
brother died? 

Pupil: He was 61 years old. 

Teacher : What wars did he wage ? 

Pupil: He waged the Danish War. 

Teacher: Tell me the first events of the Danish War. 

Pupil: In the fifteenth century the duke of Schleswig-Holstein died. 
They invited the King of Denmark to become duke, but Schleswig 



424 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

and Holstein were not to be divided. After the Second Peace of Paris, 
Holstein was taken up by the North German Federation. The Danes 
... I don't know. 

Pupil: The Danes oppressed the Germans in Schleswig. In 1863 the 
king of Denmark died, and his successor, Christian IX, called Schleswig 
a Danish province. This was contrary to the agreement, for Schleswig 
and Holstein were not to be divided. 

Teacher: What did Germany do? 

Pupil: Germany and Austria attacked Denmark, and sent an army under 
Graf von Wr angel and Prince Frederick Karl. 

Teacher: In February the army advanced into Schleswig. The Austrians 
went to the west, and the Prussians to the east. Prince Frederick Karl 
tried to go around the Danes. He fought them at Misshunde and then 
advanced to Amis. The Danes then retreated, and stopped at Diippel, 
where they had very strong fortifications. It was necessary to capture 
this fortress because it shut off all access to upper Denm.ark. In front 
of the fortifications was a broad level plain, which the Germans 
would have to cross before they could deliver an attack. The question 
was, — How could the Germans get troops close enough to make an 
effective storming of the ramparts and barricades? The German 
commander had trenches dug in zigzag directions toward the forts. 
Why do you think he had this done ? 

Pupil: I suppose because the trench would never be open to fire from the 
forts and the Germans could thus approach them without coming from 
cover. 

Teacher: This work took a long time, but at length the trenches were withi 
a short distance of the forts. On the night before the attack the Prince 
ordered all the men to rest. At five the next morning he ordered all 
the artillery to open fire upon the forts. This cannonading continued 
until ten o'clock sharp. All at once it ceased, and the word for advance 
was given. Like a flash the men were out of their trenches and were 
in the breaches in the fortifications that the artillery fire had made. 
Many of our brave soldiers fell and the outcome was in doubt. To 
make a breach that would admit our troops was of greatest importance. 
A common soldier, Klinke by name, carried a sack of powder on his 
back. He saw that if he exploded it, a hole would be torn in the de- 
fenses, but that it would cost him his life. Did he hesitate ? No ! 
The breach was made, but there was not a piece left of the poor, brave 
soldier. In a very short time the Danes retreated and the victor}'' 



I 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 425 

was ours. The Danes soon made peace and Schleswig-Holstein be- 
came a part of Prussia. Who were the commanders of the Germans 
and Austrians ? 
Pupil: Graf von Wrangel and Prince Frederick Karl. 

History. Eighth Year. Boys 

Teacher: How did Emperor William I seek to avoid the disadvantages 
which the growth of industry brought his people ? The accumulation 
of great amounts of capital by individuals, the exploitation of the 
unemployed, and the like aroused the discontent of the workingman 
and endangered domestic peace and harmony. How did the working- 
man show his discontent? 

Pupil: By strikes. 

Teacher: What were the results? 

Pupil: Property was destroyed, the employee got no work, and the em- 
ployer earned nothing. 

Teacher: How did Emperor William try to avoid this danger? 

We learn that from a message sent by Emperor William in 1881 
to the imperial parhament. It runs as follows : (reading) We would 
look back upon all the success with which God has blessed our reign 
with so much the more contentment, if we could have the consciousness 
of having left behind for the Fatherland new and lasting assurance of 
its inner peace, and greater surety and lucrativeness of assistance to the 
needy and helpless, which is their due. In our efforts in this direction 
we are assured of the approval of all the federated governments and 
of the support of parliament without party differences. In this 
connection, the bill concerning the insurance of employees against 
accidents which has been submitted in this session by all the federated 
governments, will be submitted to reconsideration and modification, 
in order to work out the new deliberation thereon. Supplementary 
thereto a bill will be introduced which will propose a similar organiza- 
tion of industrial sick fund system. Also those who become inca- 
pacitated through age or invahdism have a well-founded claim on 
society for a greater amount of state aid than they hitherto have been 
able to obtain. Prince Bismarck, at whose instance this legislation 
for the protection of the working classes was introduced, fought for 
these proposals in parhament, and it was through his efforts that these 
laws were adopted. When in the deliberation over the matter it was 
held up to him that it would cost twenty-five millions of dollars to put 



426 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the accident insurance law into effect, he replied, ''It wouldn't frighten 
me, if it were to cost seventy-five millions. . . . According to my 
opinion, a state, whose majority of citizens are confessors of the Chris- 
tian faith, should be active and concerned in caring for the poor, the 
weak, and the old." His efforts succeeded in putting these laws into 
effect. To be sure this did not happen all at once, but only gradually, 
and the great emperor did not live to see the fulfillment of his wonderful 
plans. The industrial legislation was first finished under Emperor 
William 11. How has the imperial message been fulfilled? 

Pupil: Sickness, accident, invalid, and old age pensions have been intro- 
duced for the protection of employees. 

Teacher : What is the purpose of insurance against sickness ? 

Pupil: Every employee is required to take out sickness insurance. The 
employer must register his workers, and pay the premiums for them, 
although he may withhold from their wages their share of the premiums. 

Teacher : What benefits does this type of insurance assure ? 

Pupil: It protects the workingman and his family in case of sickness 
from dire need ; it assures his dependents a certain amount of support, 
for they receive a certain sum of money upon the death of the support 
of the family. The amount received varies with the amount of the 
wages which the employee earned. 

Teacher : What is the purpose of accident insurance ? 

Pupil: It is to protect the worker and his family from necessity. But 
accident insurance, the cost of which has to be borne by the employers, 
also protects the life and health of the employees, because the employers 
are compelled to take all sorts of safety precautions, so that accidents 
cannot happen so easily. 

Teacher: Let us look at statistics and see if the number of accidents has 
really decreased. (The teacher read the figures to show that the 
number of accidents had fallen off to a large extent.) 

Teacher: Why have they introduced old age and invalid insurance in 
addition to those already mentioned? 

Pupil: This insurance is to protect the employees from need who have 
become permanently incapacitated through accident or old age. 

Teacher: But were such measures necessary? 

Pupil: Certainly, first, in the interest of the state, because we have learned 
that the internal peace and external power are endangered by the dis- 
content of the masses. 

Teacher: What else? 



THE REAL SUBJECTS 427 

Pupil: It is necessary in the interest of the working classes whose down- 
trodden conditions and whose vocation demand such care from the 
state. 

Teacher: What other reason is there for this insurance? 

Pupil: It is necessary in the interest of our industry, because it demands, 
for a further healthy development, a contented, work-loving, strong, 
laboring class. Then, too, it was a commandment of brotherly love to 
care for the old, weak, sick, and infirm. 

Teacher : Why were the employers made to bear a part of the expenses ? 

Pupil: The employees help them earn their wealth, so it is only right and 
just that the employers help care for their employees. 

Teacher: Give me a sentence to summarize the lesson. 

Pupil: The emperors have caused legislation to be passed for the pro- 
tection of the working people. 

History. Class I. Eighth Grade (Review) 

Teacher: The aim of the lesson is to show how the emperors have continued 

the efforts of their illustrious ancestors in behalf of the welfare of the 

people. 
Teacher: What illustrious ancestors are meant ? 
Pupil: The Great Elector, Frederick William I, Frederick the Great, 

and Frederick William III. 
Teacher: In what way did these emperors further the general welfare of 

the people ? 
Pupil: Frederick the Great did much for the agricultural life of his people, 

and established a great army. 
Teacher: What value did these efforts have? 
Pupil: They brought great blessings to the people. 
Teacher: In what way have the emperors furthered the welfare of the 

new empire ? 
Pupil: The restoration of commerce, the introduction of protective 

tariffs and commercial treaties, imperial postal service, founding of 

colonies, increase and improvement of means of transportation, such 

as canals, railroads, steamship lines, and the like. 
Teacher: Why did the emperors have to look out for the improvement of 

commerce and industry ? 
Pupil: The conditions arising from political reasons seriously affected 

the commerce of all of the German states. There was no Customs 

Union and each state sought to get the advantage of its neighbor. 



428 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Uniform commercial regulations were necessary for the weKare of the 
people and the unity of the empire. 

Teacher: How did the emperors seek to help? 

Pupil: The imperial postal system was organized. 

Pupil: Then protective tariffs were introduced. 

Teacher: Why were the protective tariffs introduced, and why were com- 
mercial treaties drawn up ? 

Pupil: The hurtful influence of foreign competition, which was injurious 
to German industry and agriculture, was to be removed. The hin- 
drances which kept back our industry and commerce were to be re- 
moved. In this manner the welfare of the nation was to be advanced. 

Pupil: New countries were opened up to exports. The exportation of 
goods to other countries was made easier, while importation was made 
more difiicult. 

Teacher: In what way were commerce and trade made easier? 

Pupil: Commerce and trade were made easier by the establishment of 
the imperial postal system, imperial railroads, steamship lines, and 
canals. 

Teacher: In what way did these new things improve business? 

Pupil: It made trade much easier, more simple, cheaper, and afforded 
quick exchange, and transportation of goods. 

Pupil: Commerce was made possible with all countries by the establish- 
ment of imperial steamship lines. Regions which were previously 
shut off were opened up to trade. German sea-trade was increased 
and protected. 

Teacher: What influence did these peaceful efforts have upon Germany's 
international position ? 

Pupil: The inner unity increased Germany's outer position as a world 
power. Germany was respected in the councils of the nations and was 
feared throughout all Europe. 

Teacher: Will some one summarize what we have said? 

Pupil: The German emperors have increased the general welfare of their 
people through the establishment of a postal system, commercial 
treaties, protective tariffs, railways, canals, and steamship lines. 
These efforts made Germany firmly united. 



CHAPTER XIX 
GEOGRAPHY 

Standing in very close relationship to history both in content 
and in method, geography holds a very important place in the 
curriculum of every German elementary school. To importance 
one who has observed the German schools, it is a ofGeog- 
matter of extreme difficulty to discuss geography apart ^ ^ ^ 
from history, because these two subjects are always most inti- 
mately associated with each other. In the first three or four 
years of the school there is no attempt to teach history and 
geography separately, but the material of historical or geo- 
graphical nature that is considered suitable for the lower sec- 
tion of the school is given under the name of Heimatkunde 
(knowledge of the home). 

The purpose of instruction in geography is first of all a practical one. 

Geographical knowledge is a necessity for the ordinary man under the 

commercial and industrial conditions of to-day and these 

times of the German expansion in colonization, trade, and ^^*p°f® 

^ ' ' and Aim 

industry ; and it is the duty of the Volksschule to satisfy this 
necessity in an acceptable manner. On the other hand, geography serves 
pedagogical purposes as weU ; for if presented in the proper way geography 
is not merely a matter of memorization, but has an effect on the imagina- 
tion and the understanding, thereby becoming an educative instrument. 

These are the words of a leading German educator of to-day 
and they are the truest words ever written of the purpose of a 
vast amount of the work done in the elementary schools. The 
aim is a practical one, looking toward the commercial, industrial, 

1 Schowchow, Methodik des Volksschulunterrichts, p. 432. 

429 



430 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

and colonial expansion of the German Empire. Geography is 
studied to show the children the industrial greatness and the 
industrial necessity of the Fatherland. Every item in the course 
of study in geography aims at the inculcation in the child's mind 
of an idea which is calculated to make him a more patriotic Ger- 
man, a German who sees the need of national conservation and 
defense and expansion across the seas. The work in geography 
is merely supplementary to that in history. It furnishes the 
material with which the child is made to justify the aims and 
ideals of his native land. 

France is studied largely to acquaint the German child with 
his traditional enemy. South America is studied more closely 
than North America because in that continent the German ulti- 
mately hopes to gain a foothold. Routes of travel to the Near 
East are considered carefully because the German has long 
looked with desire on the riches of the Ottoman Empire and 
Egypt. The natural resources of the Fatherland are very plainly 
discussed to show that the Empire can feed itself for only two 
hundred eighty days of the year in normal times. On account 
of this fact the German feels justified in being an expan- 
sionist. 

It goes without saying that the German teacher has other ideals 
than these practical ones to be attained by instruction in geog- 
raphy, but they are all subordinate to that of German nationalism. 

Friedrich Ratzel holds a very prominent place among Ger- 
man geographers who are devoting themselves to the ele- 
mentary school. His most important books are 

I. Principles . . 

Underlying Anthropo geographic and Die Erde und das Leben. As 
ItastrucSons ^^^ ^^ method is concerned, he has laid aside that of 
comparison and has put the " where people live " and 
*^why they live there" in the chief place of importance in the 
geography of the Volksschule. He has made the home of prime 
importance and a point of departure. He has done away with 



GEOGRAPHY 431 

a too complete dependence upon the map through which the 
geography had become very mechanical and lifeless. 

As nearly as we can ascertain, the following principles lie at 
the basis of the work in geography in the Volksschule at the 
present time. 

1. A knowledge of the formation of the land of any particular country 
constitutes primarily the basis of the geographical instruction. 

2. Portions of the earth's surface, which in regard to their climate, 
structure, animal and plant life form a unified whole, are called natural 
landscapes, upon which physical and political geography are built. 

3. Man and his occupations are the most important phenomena upon 
the earth's surface. Consequently the geography of kultur, which seeks 
to find the geographical conditions upon which civilization is built, holds 
an important place in elementary school geography. 

4. The principle involved in home geography shall be carried through- 
out the course. 

5. The self -activity of the pupil is necessary. On this last point the 
German schools fall down and one is led to doubt if the teachers really 
desire the pupils to exercise any self-activity. 

The Berlin course of study outlines the following work in geog- 
raphy. 

Class 5. (fourth year in school). Home geography dealing with Berlin. 
The Province of Brandenburg. Observation of the heavens. Course of 
(This work has already been begun in the lower section as a Study 
part of the topics in Observation Instruction.) 

Class 4. General view of the continents and oceans. Germany. Ob- 
servation of the heavens ; apparent movements of the sun, moon, and 
stars ; phases of the moon ; its relation to the sun ; eclipses of the moon. 

Class 3. Countries of Europe. Daily and yearly movement of the sun. 
Movement of the moon and its phases. 

Class 2. Foreign countries and continents with especial reference to 
German colonies and protectorates. Concluding work in the geography 
of Germany with particular emphasis upon natural resources. 

Class I. The economic conditions in Germany. Germany's position 
in world commerce. The latitude of different places ; the equator, the poles, 
tropics, and polar circles. Shape of the earth. The globe. Geographical 



432 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

latitude and longitude. Rotation of the earth. The sun's orbit. The 
moon. The solar system. Fixed stars. The universe. 

In Hannover we find another course of study. 

Class 6 (second year). Home geography. The schoolhouse. The 
school district. 

Class 5. Home geography: The city of Hannover and its environs. 
Observations of the heavens. 

Class 4. The province of Hannover. Germany in broad outline. 
Continuation of the study of the heavens : daily course of the sun ; day and 
night ; varying length of day and night ; seasons of the year ; phases of 
the moon. 

Class 3. The earth : distribution of land and water on the earth's sur- 
face; the equator; the zones; hemispheres; continents and oceans. 
Europe in broad outline. Germany. Continuation of the study of the 
heavens ; rising and setting of the sun ; heating of the earth in different 
seasons ; apparent form of the heavens, the horizon ; the polar star. 

Class 2. (a) Foreign continents with special emphasis on the German 
colonies, (b) The province of Hannover, which includes a discussion of 
state and local government and the judicial system, (c) The city of Han- 
nover : the meaning and duties of the community ; duties and rights of 
citizens; administration of the city; income and expenses of the city; 
sanitary regulations ; commercial, charitable, and educational institutions ; 
industry ; churches, (d) Study of the heavens ; shape of the earth ; dusk ; 
apparent course of the sun in the four seasons. 

Class I. (a) Other countries of Europe, (b) Germany; population, 
production (agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, fishing, mining, in- 
dustry, foreign relations and the colonies) ; commerce (domestic and for- 
eign) ; transportation (railways, post, telegraph, telephone, and steamships) ; 
protection of German labor (customs and commercial treaties), (c) Study 
of the heavens: movement of the earth; solar system; the moon. 
(d) General geography, cHmate, weather, erosion, and the like. 

The courses of study as given above indicate in a general 
way the nature of the work done in geography in the elementary 
Types of school. Home geography claims most of the time in 
Geography ^he third and fourth years, while formal geography is 
taught in the remaining four years. The work is considered 
from many points of view, chiefly, however, from its historical 



GEOGRAPHY 433 

and economic sides. According to the theory of German geog- 
raphers who deal with the subject for the Volksschule, the phys- 
ical phases of geography should receive the major portion of the 
teacher's attention, but observation has led us to believe that 
the political and economic viewpoints receive by far the larger 
part of the time. It must not be concluded, however, that the 
essentials of geography are neglected. A glance at the above 
courses shows at once that the main geographical principles are 
taken up, not only once, but several times. 

No other subject is used as freely for purposes of correlation 
as is geography. In religion a very large amount of formal 
geography or map work is introduced. If the child had 
no other geography work, he would receive from the with other 
hours spent in religion a very thorough knowledge ^ ^^^ ^ 
of Egypt, Asia Minor, Palestine, Greece, Rome, and Ger- 
many. The map and illustrations are always used in religion 
lessons dealing with countries or places mentioned in the 
Scriptures. 

Geography is likewise correlated with reading much in the 
same way that we use geographical readers in this country, 
except that the geographical selections are an integral part of 
every reader. In Hirt's Lesebuch, part 3, one hundred fifty 
pages, out of a total of five hundred sixty-three, are devoted 
to geography. These selections deal with the home, the Father- 
land, the German colonies, foreign countries, and astronomy. 
When these selections are read in the German recitation, a 
study of the map and use of illustrative material are always a 
part of the work. A great number of the geographical readings 
have a nationalistic trend which appeals to the child's patriotism 
and love of country. The following paragraphs are taken from 
a reading lesson which was used to supplement the study of 
Alsace-Lorraine. This same material could be used equally 
well in history. 
2 F 



434 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS j 

In the revolutionary wars the French conquered the remainder of 
Alsace and thereby the whole western mark became French. A \ 

The new masters did everything to make friends of the inhabitants of 
Alsace-Lorraine. They encouraged agriculture, commerce, trade, and in- 
dustry by means of new roads, canals, and railways. Especially through 
the Vosges they built roads in order to turn the faces of the Alsatians toward 
France. Metz and Strassburg were more strongly fortified ; they were to 
become the iron claws which were to hold the land for France. Thus the 
French succeeded in drawing the inhabitants over to their side, only they 
were not able to force their tongue upon the German population. Although 
the official language was French, the mass of the people spoke German at 
home and thus remained German at heart. 

Then came the war of 1870-71 which the French brought on so reck- 
lessly. For punishment therefor the stolen provinces were taken back 
again. All of Alsace and all of Lorraine and a little more were won back 
for the new German Empire. 

The proud abbey at Strassburg and the lordly cathedral at Metz look 
no longer toward the West, but eastward toward the German lands, and 
the inhabitants of Alsace-Lorraine have learned to feel happy again as 
Germans under the protecting scepter and loving care of the German 
kaiser. 

Geography and history are more closely correlated than any 
other subjects, as can easily be understood. The selection just 
given above is typical of the geographical-historical selections 
used in a supplementary way. Both subjects grow out of 
Heimatkunde, which is both elementary history and geography. 
History is called upon continually to give life and motivation 
to the geography lesson. The children are never allowed to 
forget that it is German land, a part of the Fatherland, that they 
are studying. It is very difficult to find any spot in Germany 
that has not been intimately connected with Germany's pohtical 
development. This fact, inasmuch as a patriotic citizenship is 
one of the chief aims of education, is enough to arouse the 
child's interest, for there is no child who is not vitally con- 
cerned in knowing why Germany is the greatest nation in the 
world. 



GEOGRAPHY 435 

Elementary science is also employed to vitalize the geography 
instruction. The trees, plants, minerals, and animals which are 
commonest in Germany are studied in beginning botany, zoology, 
physics, and chemistry, and all this is brought in to aid in geog- 
raphy. The correlations made are not accidental, but carefully 
planned to save time in teaching. 

Reference to the foregoing courses of study, particularly the 
one of the Hannover schools, shows a very great amount of 
time given to the economic phases of geography in the 2. Economic 
last years of school. This is put at the last of the Geography 
course for several reasons. First, because the child would 
scarcely be able to understand it at an earher age, and, secondly, 
because the State wishes to leave a firm impress of Germany's 
position, power, and needs upon the youthful citizen who is about 
to leave school. These topics are treated from another point of 
view in the history and civil government course (Burgerkunde). 
This type of work in geography has great value for the type of 
citizen which the State demands, in that it provides a definite 
kind of knowledge which every intelligent citizen must have. 
There is not much theory involved ; it is generally a plain state- 
m^ent of facts, selected to show what Germany's power and re- 
sources are, and to show what are the duties and rights of the 
State, the community, and the citizen. It must be said that 
the teachers who give this work, in all instances observed, 
never overstate the facts. They merely ignore facts con- 
cerning other countries. It must be admitted that a great 
many superlative statements in regard to Germany can be 
truthfully made. 

In spite of all theory to the contrary, a large portion of the 
time in geography is given over to the study, that is, 3. PoUticai 
the memorization of political divisions and boundaries, Geography 
rivers, capitals, and the like. 

Although the larger part of the course in geography is given 



436 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

over to economic and political geography, the physical side of 
the subject is amply taken care of. One of the good features of 
geography in the schools in Germany is that the chil- 
and Mathe- ^ren are not overburdened with more physical geog- 
maticai raphy than they can understand. Only the most 

Geography ^ •' '' . . "^ 

essential and fundamental principles of geography are 
discussed, and then very simply and very clearly. Mathematical 
geography is taken up in a very brief way in connection with 
arithmetic in addition to being treated in a few lessons in the 
upper geography classes. Reference to the courses given above 
will show how much attention is given to the phases of geog- 
raphy treated in this paragraph. 

One finds quite a number of methods used in the organiza- 
tion of the subject matter in geography, all of which may be 
Methods of observed in daily use in the schools. The subject mat- 
Organiza- ter treated is very much the same in all Volksschulen, 
Subject and it is selected generally on the basis of the princi- 
Matter pjgg mentioned above, which resolves itself J&nally into 

teaching the child the most necessary things about his own 
home, his province, the state, and the outside world in so far as 
it concerns Germany. Several of the methods of organization 
of this subject matter will be mentioned. The courses selected 
above are the most typical, based on the concentric-circle theory 
of organization, modified, however, to some extent. 

The analytic method of treatment proceeds from the general 
to the particular. The child begins with the earth, then takes 
^^^ the continent, the country, the state, the province, and 

Analytic the city in turn. Physical, political, and economic 
geography follow each other. The majority of Ger- 
man educators do not hold to this organization because they 
think it does not correspond to the experience of the child, and 
puts off a treatment of the home and state to the last of the 
course. 



GEOGRAPHY 437 

The synthetic method is just the reverse of the analytic. 
Modifications of this method are in most common use in the 
Volksschule. This happens to be the most current form ^^ ^ 
of organization in America at this time. The order of thetic 
topics is usually the schoolhouse, the home, the city, 
the district, the province, the state, the rest of the world. Among 
the prominent methodicians of Germany who have used this 
organization are Harnisch, Diesterweg, Henning, and Gude. 

The correlative method of organization in geography is carried 
out rigidly in very few schools, but is used more or less in all 
for pedagogical and administrative reasons. This correlative 
organization is used from a pedagogical standpoint Method 
because a child can learn the geography of a place m^ore easily, 
and remember it longer, if at the same time he learns some of 
its history. From an administrative standpoint it saves a great 
deal of time to organize subject matter on a correlative basis. 
Herbart, Ziller, Rein, and Gopfert have rendered great service to 
the Volksschule along these lines. According to this principle 
if in the fifth year in history the child studied Henry IV, Bar- 
barossa, the Crusades, the spread of Christianity on the Baltic 
Sea, and Rudolph of Hapsburg, he would study the Alps, Italy, 
the Balkan peninsula, Asia Minor and Palestine, the Baltic 
provinces, Switzerland and Austria in geography. Many of 
the German teachers with whom I have talked say that the 
danger in this organization is that geography loses its identity 
through correlation with other subjects. In spite of this danger 
this plan of allowing one subject to bolster up and help out an- 
other is one of the best features of the German schools. We 
talk a great deal about correlation in this country, but there is 
very Httle real correlation done. If a point of correlation happens 
to come up, our teachers take advantage of it, but there is not 
much conscious and intelligent planning for the proper type of 
correlation. 



438 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The concentric circle theory of organization in geography is 
used in some form or other in practically all German Volks- 
schulen, which fact does not interfere at all with correlation or 
with the use of the synthetic scheme of organization. In the 
lowest section of the school the whole field of geography, of 
course, only in barest outHne, is taken up ; in the middle section, 
the same material is treated still more intensively, and increased 
in difficulty and richness according to the needs and abilities of 
the child ; and it is all gone over again, with added content, in 
the upper section of the school. This method of organization is 
particularly valuable for several reasons. First, it is valuable 
because the child retains subject matter better if it is gone over 
several times ; and second, it is valuable for those children who 
never reach the seventh or eighth grade, in that all the important 
topics have been taken up previously at least twice. 

For example, in the geography course in Hannover (p. 432), 

the city of Hannover was taken up in grades two, three, six, and 

seven ; Germany was discussed in grades four, five, and 

the seven ; and the province of Hannover was treated in 

Concentric grades four and six. This does not take into account 

Theory ° 

the treatment these topics receive in other subjects 
than geography, from which it is readily seen that the really 
important items are thoroughly handled. They are studied in 
such a way that when the child leaves school, he knows his own 
home and country much better than does the average American 
child. 

The methods employed in the classroom are very different 
from those that are used in America, but are very similar to 
those used in teaching the other subjects in the German Volks- 
schule. The following instruction from the Ministry serves as a 
good starting point for a discussion of methods of teaching in 
geography. "Dictations^ are not allowed. Likewise a purely 
^ General Regulations, of Oct. 15, 1872. 



GEOGRAPHY 439 

mechanical drilling of names of countries and cities and statis- 
tics is forbidden. Instruction is to start with observation, 
which is made possible by use of the globe and the map." Atten- 
tion is called here to a stenographic lesson in geography printed 
in this chapter (p. 445) , which furnishes us a great deal of Hght 
on this and other points having to do with methods in geography. 
This lesson is very typical of all geography work in the German 
Volksschulen. We have fully thirty lessons like the one cited 
and all were taken at random in very widely separated parts of 
the Empire. The lesson was taken in April, 1914, in Steglitz, a 
suburb of BerHn. 

This lesson contains no dictations. The map and globe were 
both used ; the map was used very freely and well. The reader 
is left to judge as to how much drill of places, rivers, mountains, 
and seas was done. We beHeve that this lesson is sufficient 
comment on the method in geography. It must not be con- 
cluded for an instant that the lesson was a bad one. On the 
contrary, there are many things in its favor : i. No home work 
was required. 2. The children acquired a set of facts which 
the Ministry had decided was necessary for them to know. 
3. They were offered opportunity to contribute something to 
the lesson. 4. They had some review work and proved that 
they had retained what they had learned in the same manner, 
previously. 5. The teacher accompHshed everything he set 
out to do. Every child learned something about France and 
learned it in a way to retain it. 6. The children used good 
German. 7. They acquired no false impressions. 

On the other hand, the children exercised no initiative. They 

> did no organization of subject matter. There was no provision 
made for individuality. There was no judging by the child 
relative to the worth of statements or subject matter. These 
things may be very desirable in America, but the work must be 

i judged from the German viewpoint. The German government 



440 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

is not at all concerned in cultivating initiative in the lower 
classes; the government has no desire to make any provision 
for individuality among the classes where it desires to have uni- 
formity in thought and opinion ; the government decides about 
the relative worth of facts, and the people must accept the 
evaluation. 

The lesson referred to is the best single explanation for the 
uniformity in thought and action in Germany that we know of. 
In such wise is the thought of the lower classes cast and fixed. 
The method is sure and invariable. 

The word Heimatkunde is best translated as study or knowl- 
edge of the home. It is a well-grounded principle in German 
Heimat- Pedagogy that that which concerns the local com- 
kunde munity should occupy the most important place in all 

subjects. When we speak of Heimatkunde with reference to 
geography, we have in mind an independent subject with special 
hours assigned to it in the third and fourth years of school, and 
sometimes in the second. It differs from observation instruction 
in the first year of school in that observation instruction deals 
with particular places and makes no attempt to develop general 
ideas, while Heimatkunde prepeLies the way for geography by teach- 
ing the child what a hill or a river is. Methodicians maintain 
that Heimatkunde is largely geographical and is only supple- 
mented by the history which is always given with it. Never- 
theless Heimatkunde is to all intents and purposes a mixture of 
history and geography, with the emphasis on the geography. 

The aim of Heimatkunde is that the child shall learn about 

his home through direct contact with things in his 
Ami • • • • 

native vicmity, that he learn thereby a few funda- 
mental geographical ideas and that he learn a little about the 
use and purpose of a map. 

The method employed is Pestalozzian. The teacher takes his 
children to the place he wishes them to study, they observe it, 



GEOGRAPHY 441 

describe it, and draw what they have seen if possible. The 
teacher naturally supplements all this observation with whatever 
historical material is necessary. The time for these 

•^ Method 

excursions is taken from the regular school hours, 

although frequently the children go in the afternoons after 

school. Some teachers object to taking the children 

. . . . Excursions 

because the teacher is responsible in case any child is 
injured. These excursions are generally called walks, and are 
taken sometimes in the country and other times just about the 
city. Of course such excursions are not limited to the Heimat- 
kunde of the third and fourth years, but are continued through- 
out the school course. Aside from the instructional phase of 
the excursions, they often assume a Httle of the picnic spirit, 
especially when they are out in the country. It is a very com- 
mon sight to see a teacher with his children returning from a 
walk at evening, singing some patriotic song or Wanderlied. 
Although the excursions are sometimes informal in appearance, 
the teacher always has a very definite plan in mind as to the ideas 
which he wishes the children to acquire, and ordinarily there is a 
fixed plan as to the number and order of trips to be made. 

The best work which we observed along this line was in the 
Arbeitsschule at Dortmund. This school is a regular Volksschule, 
but is called the Arbeitsschule because the methods employed in 
the school are entirely different from those of other German 
schools. Here the children learn by doing, by working rather 
than by mere memorization. Practically everything taught in 
this school is studied first through direct contact and observa- 
tion. All the work in German, geography, science, drawing, 
manual training, and arithmetic is based on knowledge that the 
children have acquired on excursions or walks. 

In addition to using the excursions as a basis for classroom 
discussion in geography, the teacher in this particular school at 
Dortmund made them the foundation upon which the study of 



442 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

maps was built up. The children drew sketches of the play- 
ground, the schoolroom, the neighboring streets. One lesson we 
introduc- observfed followed an excursion up a Httle valley to the 
tion to east of Dortmund. On their return the boys worked 

out a relief map of the landscape on the sand table, 
placing rivers, hills, forests, and villages. It need not be said 
that this work was all done by the pupils — the one school we 
had the pleasure of visiting in which all the children were exer- 
cising a large degree of individuahty. There are several schools 
of this type in Germany, but the percentage is very small indeed. 

The German teacher usually has no other aid in geography 
than maps, but of these has always had an ample supply. The 
Maps and child has no text-book ^ — except there is a section of 
Text-books ^-j^^ Realienhuch (p. 416) which is devoted to geography. 
There is also, as has been said, a portion of the reader devoted to 
geographical matter. The geography section of the Realienhuch 
is somewhat similar to the subject matter of our own text-books 
in geography. The only difference in their use is that the 
American child studies his geography text-book, while the Ger- 
man child does not. The latter very rarely uses the Realien- 
huch for the reason that the teacher himself always presents the 
subject matter to be learned. (See p. 416.) 

A German schoolroom always has access to wall maps of all 
continents, both political and physical, maps of the empire, the 
kingdom, the province, the city, and the district. A small school 
in Pomerania had the following maps : 



I. 


Palestine. 


7- 


Berlin. 


2. 


Map for Old and New Testament. 


8. 


Sedan. 


3- 


Palestine (modern). 


9. 


Germany (Physical). 


4. 


Stettin. 


10. 


Germany (Political). 


5- 


Northern heavens. 


II. 


Africa (Physical). 


6. 


Randow (Kreis). 


12. 


Africa (Political). 



^ In some cities one may find text-books in geography. 



GEOGRAPHY 443 

13. North America (Physical). 22. German colonies. 

14. North America (Political). 23. Pomerania (Political). 

15. Europe (Physical). 24. Pomerania (Physical). 

16. Europe (Political). 25. Middle and Southern Europe. 

17. War of 1870-71. 26. South America. 

18. Brandenburg (Hist.). 27. Eastern Hemisphere. 

19. Australia. 28. Western Hemisphere. 

20. Prussia (Political). 29. Oder River. 

21. Prussia (Physical). 30. Social geography chart. 

It is the common practice to have all the above maps in the 
German schools. The German teacher depends very largely on 
his maps to help him out in his work. A German map, to one 
who can read a map, is equally as good as most text-books in 
geography and the children readily acquire great facihty in their 
use. Not only do they have an abundance of wall maps, but 
each child has a small school atlas, which means much more to 
the German child than the supplementary reading in the Realien- 
huch. A child in the upper grades can pick up an atlas or look 
at a good map and tell nearly all there is to know about a country 
without ever having read a word in a book. The maps of local 
districts are particularly good. From one which was used in 
the school mentioned above, the child can really acquire an 
immense amount of information by being able to read the 
legends on the map. By a glance at the map he can tell : where 
all the railroads are ; the elevation of all places ; the local dis- 
tances to within a few yards ; the kinds of roads, whether they 
are paved or laid with cobblestones; the automobile roads or 
bicycle paths ; all post offices ; whether a road has shade trees in 
case he wishes to take a walk; where he can get refreshments 
along the road ; where he can buy gasoline ; where the churches 
or graveyards are located ; where the brick factories, windmills, 
water mills, and monuments are situated ; where the swamps, 
meadows, heather, planted fields, pine forests, and beech forests 
are. That is about all one would require of a map. 



444 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The map is by no means the larger part of work. The teacher 
is the source of all information, except what the child may have 
happened to acquire. The method employed is much 
the same as that in history. It is almost entirely oral 
instruction. The teacher tells the children the fact which he 
wants them to learn, and as soon as he has said it, he calls on the 
children to repeat it. The stenographic lesson illustrates the 
method. In the Arheitsschule at Dortmund the children exer- 
cised much more initiative and always gave their own experience 
before the teacher made his contribution. This latter method 
is much more like that which we use here in America. 

In one or two schools visited there were stereopticon machines 
installed for use in all subjects, but particularly in geography 
I. stereop- ^^^ history. The principals of these schools seemed 
ticons ^Q beheve that stereopticon views and moving pictures 

could become a great educative factor if the views and films 
were prepared on psychological and pedagogical principles. 
There seems to be much in favor of the introduction of some 
such plan in our schools more generally than is now the case. 
The teachers in the German schools used the views to illustrate 
the material which they were presenting to the children. 

German teachers always have some concrete or objective ma- 
terial before the child. The map is always there, and when a 

iiiustra- <^h^l^ speaks of a place, he is unfaiKngly required to 
tive point to it on the map or some other child must do it 

for him. Sometimes the teacher draws on the board 
a map of the region of which he is speaking, and frequently the 
children are also required to make such maps. There is very 
little drawing of maps on paper such as we do in America. 

The school museums, of which the best are in Hannover and 
School BerHn, serve a very excellent purpose in geography 

Museums teaching. In these museums are ethnological, bio- 
logical, geological, and historical collections. The teachers take 



GEOGRAPHY 445 

their classes to these museums as often as there is a demand or 
opportunity for such work. This is another feature of the Ger- 
man schools which we would do well to adopt. 

The former and present-day practice in geography in Ger- 
many is in spite of all their theory a memorization of places, 
names, areas, and the like ; a learniner of a great num- 

. Conclusion 

ber of facts more or less necessary. Such will always 
be the case until the what, how, and why are emphasized more 
than they are at present. It will never be any better until the 
principle followed in the Arheitsschule at Dortmund, where the 
child's self-activity was regarded, finds wider practice. All the 
instruction must be based on reality, and the subject matter must 
concern the child's present and future needs, in this case, his own 
locality and Germany. The children must be given a chance 
to work with things, make maps, construct models, and carry 
out simple experiments which underlie fundamental geographical 
principles. Among the good points in the geography v/ork of 
the Volksschule the definiteness and conciseness of the course is 
probably the best. Not too much is attempted. Every topic 
has a definite purpose, in keeping with the aim of the entire school 
program. The teachers are well prepared ; they have good con- 
trol of subject matter. The maps are not to be excelled. The 
method used gets the results which are desirable in Germany — 
acquirement of facts. 

Geography. Ill Class. Fifth Year. Boys 

Teacher: Where do we live? 

Pupil: We live in Europe. 

Teacher: What is your Fatherland? 

Pupil: Germany is my Fatherland. 

Teacher: All together, — Germany is our Fatherland. 

Pupils: Germany is our Fatherland. 

Teacher: Who is our Landesvater (father of the country) ? 

Pupil: Emperor William II is the father of our coimtry. 



446 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: Why is he called Landesvater? 

Pupil: Because he rules the German fatherland. 

Teacher: No, 

Pupil: Because he cares for the land and its people as if he were the father. 

Teacher: Yes. He cares for the land as a father cares for his children, 
whence comes the name. What is the emperor called? All together. 

Pupils: The emperor is called Landesvater. 

Teacher: Germany is shut in by many other lands. What country is to 
the west ? 

Pupil: France. 

Teacher: We shall hear something about this country to-day. What 
country are we to hear about to-day ? 

Pupil: We shall hear about France to-day. 

Teacher: Once more. 

Another Pupil: We shall hear about France to-day. 

Teacher: All together. 

Pupils: We shall hear about France to-day. 

Teacher: What is the name of this country ? 

(Teacher had written the name on the board.) 

Pupil: France. 

Teacher: Who has ever heard of it ? (Several hands were raised.) 
What have you heard ? 

Pupil: It is a republic. 

Teacher: All together: France is a republic. 

Pupils: France is a republic. 

Teacher: What is a repubUc? 

Pupil: A repubUc has no king, only a ruler. 

Teacher: Not exactly. 

Pupil: France is not ruled by a king, but by a president. 

Teacher: Who is the ruler of Germany? 

Pupils : The kaiser is the ruler of Germany. 

Teacher: And after his death who will be the ruler? 

Pupil: The crown prince. 

Teacher: And how is it in a repubUc? 

Pupil: The president is elected by the people as often as they wish. 

Teacher: Yes, in a repubHc the president is elected for some four or five 
years and he may be elected more than once. He rules only for a cer- 
tain number of years. How long does a king rule ? 

Pupil: A king rules for life. 



GEOGRAPHY 447 

Teacher: What are the boundaries of France (pointing to the map) ? 

Pupil: The Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees and . . . 

Teacher: The west boundaries of France are the Atlantic Ocean and the 
Bay of Biscay; on the south the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean 
Sea ; on the east, the Alps, the Jura, and Germany ; and the northern 
boundaries are Belgium and the English Channel. Give the bound- 
aries of France. (A pupil pointed to the boundaries while another 
pupil recited.) 

Pupil: The western boundaries are the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of 
Biscay, the southern boundaries are the Pyrenees and the Mediter- 
ranean Sea ; the eastern borders are the Alps, the Jura, and Germany ; 
on the north are Belgium and the EngHsh Channel. 

Teacher: Now let us consider the east boundaries of France more closely. 
They are the Alps, the Swiss Jura, and the Argonnen Wald. All to- 
gether : The eastern . . . 

Pupils: The eastern boundaries are the Alps, the Swiss Jura, and the 
Argonnen Wald. 

Teacher : Now one pupil alone give the boundaries on the east. 

Pupil: The eastern boundaries of France are the Alps, the Swiss Jura, 
and the Argonnen Wald. 

Teacher: Now give me all the boundaries of France. 

Pupil: The western boundaries of France are the Atlantic Ocean and the 
Bay of Biscay ; the southern are the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean 
Sea ; the eastern boundaries are the Alps, the Svv-iss Jura, the Argonnen 
Wald; and Belgium and the English Channel on the north. 

Teacher: What you told me of France was not very much. Can any one 
give me the name of a ruler of France ? 

Pupil: Napoleon I. 

Pupil: Napoleon III. 

Teacher : What wars did Napoleon I wage ? 

Pupil: The wars against Prussia one hundred years ago. 

Teacher: What wars did Napoleon III conduct? 

Pupil: The Franco-Prussian War in 1871. 

Teacher: Have the French and Germans gotten along well together? 

Pupil: No, they have had many wars with one another. 

Teacher: Yes. Now we must study and find out more about this coun- 
try, because we may have trouble in the future with them ! The chief 
rivers of France are the Loire, the Rhone, the Garonne, the Maas, the 
Moselj and the Seine. Repeat that. 



448 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: The chief rivers of France are the Loire, the Rhone, the . . . 

Teacher: Garonne. 

Pupil: . . . the Garonne, and the . . . 

Teacher: Seine (giving it the French pronunciation). 

Pupil: . . . the Seine, the Maas, and the Mosel. 

Teacher: All together (pointing to the rivers). 

Pupils: The chief rivers of France are the Rhone, the Loire, the Garonne, 

the Seine, the Maas, and the Mosel. 
Teacher: What mountains are here in the South of France? 
Pupil: The Pyrenees. 
Teacher: On the east of France are the Alps, the Jura, the Argonnes, the 

Sevennes. The Sevennes stretch up as far as the Mosel. Repeat 

that. 
Pupil: The mountains in eastern France are the Alps, the Swiss Jura, 

the Argonnes, and the Sevennes. 
Teacher: Repeat that once more. These mountains in here are the 

Vosges. 
Pupils: The mountains in eastern France are the Alps, the Swiss Jura, 

the Argonnes, the Vosges, and the Sevennes. 
Teacher: Where are the lowlands of France? (No reply.) The lowland 

plain of France reaches from the Pyrenees to Belgium. Repeat that. 
Pupil: The lowland plain of France reaches from the Pyrenees to Belgium. 
Teacher: Repeat that again. 

Pupil: The lowland plain of France reaches from the Pyrenees to Belgium. 
Teacher: There is another lowland (valley) along the Rhone. 
(The song " Deutschland, Deutschland, iiber alles'^ was then sung, presum- 
ably because the boys were getting a Httle sleepy.) 
Teacher: What is our Fatherland ? 
Pupil: Germany is our Fatherland. 
Teacher: Who is our kaiser? 
Pupil: William II is our kaiser. 
Teacher: What can we call him? 
Pupil: We call him the Landesvater. 
Teacher: What country are we studying to-day? 
Pupil: We are studying France. 
Teacher : What border of Germany is France ? 
Pupil: France is the western border of Germany. 
Teacher: What is the capital of France? 
Pupil: Paris is the capital of France. 



GEOGRAPHY 449 

Teacher: What is the best train for Paris? (No reply.) The best train 

for Paris passes through Hannover, Cologne, and Brussels. Repeat 

that. 
Pupil: The best train for Paris runs from Berlin through Hannover, 

Cologne, and Brussels. (It was repeated again.) 
Teacher: The best water route from Berlin to Paris is down the Elbe to 

Hamburg, then through the North Sea and EngHsh Channel to Havre, 

and then by rail to Paris. Or one may go by way of Boulogne instead 

of Havre. Give me the boundaries of France. 
Pupil: The boundaries of France on the west are the Atlantic Ocean and 

the Bay of Biscay; the southern boundaries, the Mediterranean Sea 

and the Pyrenees ; the eastern boundaries are the Alps, the Swiss Jura, 

the Argonnen Wald; Belgium and the EngUsh Channel are the northern 

boundaries. 
Teacher: Give me the chief rivers of France. 
Pupil: The chief rivers of France are the Rhone, the Garonne, the Loire, 

the Seine, the Maas, and the Mosel. 
Teacher: Repeat that. (Calling another pupil.) 
Pupil: The chief rivers of France are the Rhone, the Garonne, the Loire, 

the Seine, the Maas, and the Mosel. 
Teacher: What are the chief mountains of France? 
Pupil: The mountains of France are the Alps, the Jura, the Vosges, the 

Argonnes, and the Sevennes. (Repeated by another pupil.) 
Teacher: Give me the lowlands of France. 
Pupil: The chief lowland of France reaches from the Pyrenees to Belgium. 

The other plain is along the Rhone. 
Teacher: If we take a look at the general shape of France, what form do 

we find it to have ? 
Pupil: It is quadrilateral. 

Teacher: Yes. There are two peninsulas. Normandy. Say that. 
Pupils: Normandy. 

Teacher: And Brittany. Pronounce that. 
Pupils: Brittany. 
Teacher: These peninsulas used to reach out and join England to the 

continent, but the North Sea broke through. What was the result ? 
Pupil: England was then an island. 
Teacher : What lands used to be joined ? 
Pupil: England and France used to be joined. 
Teacher: What divided these countries? 
2 G 



450 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: The North Sea broke through and separated them by the Eng- 
lish Channel. 

Teacher: What body of water separates England and France? 

Pupil: The EngHsh Channel {Armel Kanal). 

Teacher: Why is it called the Armel Kanal? 

Pupil: Because it has the shape of a coat sleeve. 

Teacher: The narrowest part of the channel is at Dover straits. Where 
is the narrowest part of the channel? 

Pupil: The narrowest part of the channel is called the Straits of Dover. 

Teacher: What are the chief peninsulas of France? 

Pupil: The chief peninsulas of France are Brittany and Normandy. 

Teacher: What have we talked about to-day? 

Pupil: We have talked about France. 

Teacher: What was the name of the early inhabitants of France? 

Pupils: The Franks. 

Teacher: Who was their king? 

Pupil: His name was Charles the Great. 

Teacher: Give me the boundaries of France. 

Pupil: The boundaries of France are the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of 
Biscay on the west, the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean, and the Gulf of 
Lyon are the southern boundaries ; and France is bounded on the east 
by the Alps, the Swiss Jura, the Argonnes, the Vosges; and on the 
north by Belgium and the English Channel. 

Teacher: Name the chief rivers of France. 

Pupil: The chief rivers of France are the Rhone, the Garonne, the Loire, 
the Seine, the Maas, and the Mosel. 

Teacher: Give the name of the mountains in France. 

Pupil: The Alps, the Jura, the Vosges, the Argonnes, and the Sevennes. 

Teacher: Where do we find the Sevennes? 

Pupil: The Sevennes extend from the Pyrenees to the Mosel. 

Teacher: Where are the lowland plains of France? 

Pupil: The great lowland plain of France is in the western part of the 
country and extends from the Pyrenees to Belgium. 

Teacher: Give the names of the chief peninsulas of France. 

Pupil: The chief peninsulas of France are Brittany and Normandy. 

Teacher: Repeat that together. 

Pupils: The chief peninsulas of France are Brittany and Normandy. 

Teacher: Why is the channel called the Armel Kanal? 

Pupil: It is called the Armel Kanal because it has the shape of a sleeve. 



GEOGRAPHY 451 

Teacher: What did we study about before vacation? 

Pupil: We studied about the Balkan countries. 

Teacher: What are the Balkan countries (pointing at map) ? 

Pupil: The Balkan states are Turkey, Bulgaria, Roumania, Servia, Bosnia, 

Montenegro, Albania, Herzogovina, and Greece. 
Teacher: Repeat that, some one else. (It was repeated again.) 
Teacher: Who is the new prince of Albania? 
Pupil: Prince William of Wied. 

Teacher: Yes, he is a German prince. What is the capital of Albania? 
Pupil: The capital of Albania is Durrazo. 
Teacher: What is the capital of Turkey? 
Pupil: Constantinople. 

Teacher: Give me the route by train from Berlin to Constantinople. 
Pupil: The train passes through Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Belgrade, 

Sofia, Adrianople, and Constantinople, and the name of the train is the 

Oriental Express. 
Teacher: How do you go to Constantinople by water? 
Pupil: One may go to Trieste by train and then by boat through the 

Adriatic Sea, the iEgean Sea, the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora, and 

then the Bosphorus. 
Teacher: What other water route is there? 
Pupil: One may start from Hamburg down the Elbe, through the North 

Sea, the Enghsh Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, the Straits of Gibraltar, 

the Mediterranean Sea, the ^gean Sea, the Dardanelles, the Sea of 

Marmora, and the Bosphorus. 
Teacher: Tell me what you know of Constantinople. 
Pupil: The churches have no bells and instead of spires they have minarets. 

They are called mosques. 
Teacher: How are the faithful called to prayer? 
Pupil: A priest calls the people from the minaret. 
Teacher: Constantinople lies on the water. Of what meaning is that ? 
Pupil: It is a great commercial city. 
Teacher: Yes. Its harbor is one of the best in the world. What is the 

capital of Greece? 
Pupil: Athens is the capital of Greece. 
Teacher: What is the seaport of Athens? 
Pupil: It is Piraeus. 
Teacher: Who is the queen of Greece? (No answer.) She is the sister 

of our emperor. 



CHAPTER XX 

BIOLOGY 

Naturgeschichte (natural history), consisting of botany, zo- 
ology, and physiology, is a separate subject of instruction in all 
German Volksschulen. It is one of the Realien. The 

Position 

in the subject is generally first begun in the first year of the 

Course middle section (see p. 247) and is continued two hours 

a week throughout the remaining classes of the school, although 
the number of hours may be somewhat less in some of the years. 
The total number of year hours rarely exceeds ten. Of course, 
some plants and animals have been superficially studied in the 
lower section, but only incidentally or as subject matter for 
observation instruction. 

The course of study varies somewhat according to the location 
of the school. Rural schools would naturally have a different 
Course of course from city schools. The following course is 
study typical. It is customary to have botany and zoology 

in alternate semesters throughout the course. 

Class 6 (third year, lower section). In this class there is no real study of 
biology, but preparation therefor is made by observational studies of 
flowers and trees, as the apple, chestnut, tulip, wind rose, honeysuckle, bean, 
and sunflower. The horse, cow, cat, dog, chicken, rabbit, sparrow, stork, 
and beetle are studied. 

Class 5 (fourth year, middle section). I. Relation of simple organs and 
their uses. II. Observations and experiments. Plants in school garden. 
House plants. Care of plants. Development of the tulip and the bean. 
A fish in the school aquarium. Development of the butterfly. Field 

452 



BIOLOGY 453 

excursions. III. Topics: {a) Tulip, wind rose, strawberry, cherry tree, 
lion's tooth, house plants, fuchsia, begonia, cress ; peas and beans, cabbage ; 
{b) starling, frog, bat, mole, swallow, butterfly, deer, fox, pig, squirrel, wood- 
pecker, otter, owl, swan, bear, elephant, camel. 

Class 4. I. Biological characteristics of plants, and especially of blossoms. 
Biological characteristics of animals, especially the relationships of bodily 
structure, habitat, and manner of living. Biological groups. Classifica- 
tion of plants and animals into groups of the natural systems. II. Obser- 
vations and experiments : plants of the school garden. House plants. 
Care of plants. Experiments in germination. Growth of cuttings and 
twigs. Prevention of pollination and artificial pollination of fuchsia and 
Alpine violet blossoms. Dissemination of seeds. Water plants and lower 
forms of animal life in water (snail, mussel, water insects, water weed, water 
lentil, and flea-crab). Field excursions. III. Topics: {a) Forest: oak 
(foliage trees), scotch pine (conifers), red ant, lizard. (&) Field: rye, flax, 
poppy, carrot, potato, field mouse, lark, crow, burying beetle, (c) Meadow : 
meadow grasses, pastureland, common mushrooms, bees, fishing worm, gar- 
den spider, (d) Heath and moor: heather, bog-moss, buckwheat. 
{e) Water : crabs, snails, mussels, mosquito, dragon fly. 

Class 3. I. Further study of biological characteristics of other forms of 
life. Some lower plants. Some lower animals and some articulate animals. 
Characteristic animals of other zones. Study of human body and its 
hygiene. Some exotic plants. Half a year is given to the last three topics. 
II. Experiments and observation, (a) Microscopic studies of the spores 
of the mushroom, the fern, or moss; study of yeast, moldy yeast, sea- 
weed (algse) from the school aquarium, hair, vegetable fiber, fungi of the 
mouth, blood corpuscles. (6) Products of the colonies in the commercial 
and school museums, (c) Sanitary regulations of the city, street cleaning, 
sewerage, hospitals, public gymnasiums and playgrounds, baths, vaccina- 
tion, dental clinics, parks, forest and meadow reserves. III. Topics: 
Brake or shield-fern, maiden-hair fern, moss, toadstool, yeast, fungi, 
house fly, silk moth, trichina and tapeworm, parasites of the human body, 
lower animals of the aquarium, monkey, whale, ostrich, herring, sea-fish, 
human skeleton, muscles and their functions, blood and its circulation, 
respiration, nutrition, foods (cocoanut palm), luxuries (tobacco, coffee, tea, 
spices), alcohol, grapes, care of teeth, alimentation, sense organs and nerves, 
body temperature and its regulation by means of clothing, infectious dis- 
eases, work and play, results of dissipation. 

Class 2. I. The most important facts of botany and physiology. 



454 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

11. Observation and experiments dealing with plants and plumules to form 
the basis of botany. Embryo plants in nutritive solutions. Water weed 
exposed to sunlight. Test for starch with iodine solution. Cuttings. 
Microscopic work with fatty cells, milk, and leaves of plants. Sanitary 
arrangements of the city. Plants in the garden and house. HI. Topics : 
(a) Structural elements of plants, assimilation of food by plants, respiration 
of plants, circulation of sap in plants, (b) Care of the Hmbs of the human 
body, sport, homes for cripples ; hygiene of the vital organs, food, air, homes 
for infants. Alcoholism and temperance societies. Dental hygiene, dental 
clinics. Hygiene of the circulatory and respiratory apparatus. Homes for 
tubercular cases. Hygiene of the skin, eyes, ears, baths, asylums for the 
deaf, dumb, and blind. Hygiene of the nerves, institutions for epileptics, 
and insane hospitals. Regulation of body temperature. Influence of 
weather and climate. Acclimatization. Contagious diseases. Vaccina- 
tion. Hospitals. Quarantine houses. First aid to the injured in cases of 
wounds. Burns, hemorrhages, drowning, asphyxiation, freezing, fainting. 
Red Cross. Work and recreation. Evil consequences of dissipation. 
Dwelling. 

Class I. I. Continuation of the work in botany of Class 2. Structural 
elements of plants, protective features of plants, bushes, and trees of the 
locality. II. (a) Skeleton of man and animals compared. Skeleton of a 
mammal, a bird, a fish, and a turtle. Skeleton of the coral and the sponge. 
The lower animals, (b) Muscles and their relation to movement. Organs 
of movement of animals, mobility of bones and tendons. Organs of motion 
of animals in the air, in the earth, in water, in trees, on the ground, 
(c) Blood and its circulation in man and in animals. Elements and color 
of blood. The heart of different classes of animals, {d) Respiration in 
man and in animals. Respiratory system. Respiration through the 
lungs, gills, trachea, and skin. Cold- and warm-blooded animals, (e) Nu- 
trition of the human body. Foods. Alcohol. Dental hygiene. Poisons, 
Nutrition of animals. Method of nutrition, flesh and plant eating animals. 
Juices of meats and plants. Organs of nutrition: hand, foot, paw, daw, 
teeth, beak, tongue, spittle, stomach, crop, intestine, osmosis, alimentation. 
(J) Human nervous organism. Nervous systems of animals, especially the 
eyes of vertebrates and insects, (g) Protective arrangements of animals 
against cold, water, enemies, (h) Multiplication of animals. Living young. 
Eggs. Metamorphosis in amphibia, articulate animals, worms, and tri- 
chinae. Division and budding among lower animals. Classification of 
animals. 



BIOLOGY 455 

The course of study in biology and physiology just given is 
for a large city. In cities where there are separate schools for 
boys and girls, the topics chosen during the last two 
years are not the same for both types of schools. The Boys and 
needs of each sex are considered in rnaking such a °^ "^^ 
course. In some places the girls have no physics or chemistry, 
or at least not so much as the boys, and in these cases they 
usually have a little more extensive course in physiology, and in 
the botany of food plants. Physiology as a rule receives about 
twenty lessons in each of the last two years. 

This course typifies those given in practical German Volks- 
schulen, both in the city and in the country. Naturally the 
amount of time spent on each topic varies with the Nature of 
locahty and how great an intimacy the children have *^® Course 
with plants and flowers before coming to school. The striking 
thing about the course is its usefulness. In the whole Hst there 
is not one topic about which the children should not be in- 
formed ; in fact, about which it is not almost necessary for them 
to know. Not many plants or animals are discussed within any 
one year, but a few are treated very thoroughly. Very few of 
the plant or animal types are entirely new to the children, for 
many of them have been observed and studied superficially in 
the lower classes. 

There is no special text-book for this subject. A portion of 
the Realienhuch (see p. 394) is devoted to the description of 
plants and animals and to a discussion of physiology 

. . Text-books 

and hygiene. The book, as m other subjects, is very 
Kttle used. The text generally deals briefly with each of the 
topics discussed in class, but offers nothing more than a sum- 
mary of the work. The teacher rarely ever refers the pupils to 
the text-book until the topic has been presented and thoroughly 
discussed in class. Many teachers have told us that no text 
was necessary so far as they were concerned. Children in va- 



456 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

rious schools have frequently told us that they never used their 
science reader more than once or twice during the year and then 
for review. The significance of all this is that the sources of 
information are the teacher and the study of the various plants 
and animals. The text-book itself is generally poor, judged by 
American standards. Our text-books have developed to a high 
degree of perfection because we have to depend on them to 
make up the deficiencies of our teachers. Consequently, we 
study books too much. On the other hand, the Germans fail 
to see the use to which a good text may be put. A great deal 
of time is wasted in their schools on account of the lack of good 
science texts. This is true of other subjects as well. 

German Volksschulen are excellently equipped for teaching 
elementary science, particularly biology. Every school that we 
,^ ^ . , visited had a collection of prepared animals and birds 

Matenal ^ ^ 

and mounted models of plant Kfe. In addition to the 
specimens of the plant or animal being discussed, the school 
generally has illustrative maps, charts, or pictures, covering 
every animal or plant studied. For example, for the study of 
the honeybee, a school will have a box in which specimens are 
mounted showing the embryo bee, its growth and development, 
how the comb is made, how honey is gathered, and all other 
activities connected with the Hfe of the bee. Besides this the 
school has pictures to illustrate the kinds of bees, their habitat, 
reproduction, and activities. 

Thus it is for every topic taught in biology. The instruction 
is made as objective and concrete as possible, for the children 
always have some observational material on which to base their 
work. 

In the cities, each school has its supply room in which the 
Apparatus material for the general use of the whole school is 
Rooms kept. Care is exercised in the purchase of biological 

supplies that duplications are not made in purchasing and that 



BIOLOGY 457 

specimens purchased shall serve as many classes as possible. A 
teacher is assigned to look after this room and is made respon- 
sible for the condition and preservation of the collection. It is 
needless to say that the material in these rooms is systematically 
arranged, so that it will alwa3^s be ready for use. 

Between the recitation periods the head boy of the class goes 
to the apparatus room and secures the articles necessary for the 
next recitation. Everything is on hand when the recitation 
begins. Within our observation it never occurred that a teacher 
had forgotten to secure a model, map, or chart which was 
needed in the recitation. This is merely German foresight 
and method. 

In the country biology is taught even more successfully than 
in the cities. The collections of specimens are never so rich or 
varied, but they are always sufficient and are generally 
made by the pupils themselves. Very frequently, supplies in 
where in the city stuffed models of animals and tj^e Country 

-' Schools 

mounted specimens of plants are necessary, natural 
specimens are to be had in the country. 

The poorest teaching anywhere in the Volksschulen is done in 
biology and in the other elementary sciences, but particularly 
in biology. It is not that the teachers do not give the Methods of 
children enough facts, but it is the way in which they iiistmction 
are given. The teachers have no lack of observational material, 
but they do not allow the children to observe. It was very 
seldom that we heard the teachers ask the children, in taking up 
a new plant or a new animal, what they knew about it, what they 
had experienced with it, what they could see. Almost invariably 
the teacher made all the observations and required the children 
to make the same ones and to talk about no other. Questions 
from the children were exceedingly rare. But as we have said 
in many other places, it is not the aim of the German Volks- 
schide to make individual thinkers of the common classes. 



458 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Biology aims chiefly to teach the children an appreciation 
and knowledge of themselves and the living world about them. 
^^^^ Sex education in the elementary schools is taught by 

Sought in teaching the sex relationships of plants and of animals, 
loogy rpj^.^ .g always done delicately and simply, so that 
almost unconsciously the child acquires knowledge of himself 
and the sex relationship. 

Biology is tied up with almost every subject in the curric- 
ulum, particularly literature, composition, language, geography, 
Correlation a-^d drawing. The correlations made are always 
of Biology natural and are never artificial, except in a few cases. 
In the lesson on the eagle, given in this chapter, attention is called 
to the attempt on the part of the teacher to impress on the chil- 
dren the kingly attributes, the greater worth of the nobility. 
Thus the schools are made to establish the doctrine of kingship 
among the people and convince them of its naturalness and 
justice. 

The lessons appended show the methods usually employed in 
biology. They were selected at random from a large number of 
lessons. We believe they show that the main difference between 
such work in our schools and the German schools Hes in the 
method employed. We also beheve that it is the general use of 
such methods which produces the German type of contented 
citizenship, patriotic and non-individualistic, in contrast to our 
freer, more independent, restless American. 

Biology. Class HI. Sixth Year 

Teacher: We shaU review plums to-day. What is the best ground for 

plums? (Had chart of plum blossoms and fruit.) 
Pupil: Moist and protected ground is best for plums. 
Teacher: Where do we get plums from besides our native land? 
Pupil: We get plums from Asia. 
Teacher: What other fruits do we get from Asia? 
Pupil: We get dates, figs, and other tropical fruits. 



BIOLOGY 459 

Teacher: What is the shape of the plum leaf? 

Pupil: It is an ellipse. 

Teacher: When does it bloom? 

Pupil: It blooms in May. 

Teacher: How is the blossom protected in winter? 

Pupil: The bud is protected in winter by a thick covering. 

Teacher : When does the bud begin to swell ? 

Pupil: The bud begins to swell in early spring when the sap rises. 

Teacher: Describe the bloom. 

Pupil: The bloom is white at the top and a little green at the bottom. 

The fertilization takes place by transference of pollen by bees. There 

are always several blossoms in a cluster. 
Teacher: Describe the plum. 
Pupil: The plum is ordinarily about so (showing) large. It is covered 

with a thick skin. Some plums are blue and others are green. In 

the center is a stone. 
Teacher: What are the uses of the plum? 

Pupil: Plums are used to eat and to make marmalade, and jelly, too. 
Teacher: What else? 
Pupil: They are used for preserves. 
(In the advance work the bat was taken up. The teacher had a prepared 

specimen, one half showing the skeletal development, the other show- 
ing the natural external features of the bat.) 
Teacher: What animal is that? 
Pupil: That is a bat (Fledermaus) . 
Teacher: What other things can fly? 
Pupil: Birds can fly. 
Teacher: Is the bat a bird? 
Pupil: The bat is not a bird but an animal. 
Teacher: The bat is a mammal. The bat can fly. The bat is a flying 

mammal. Repeat that. 
Pupil: The bat can fly. The bat is a flying mammal. 
Pupil: The bat is a flying mammal. 
Teacher: Repeat that several times. 
Pupil: The bat is a flying mammal. 
Pupil: The bat is a flying mammal. 
Pupil: The bat is a flying mammal. 
Pupil: The bat is a flying mammal. 

(This was repeated a dozen times in all.) 



46o PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: How is the bat i&tted out for flying? 

Pupil: It is light. 

Teacher : How does that come ? 

Pupil: It is — The body is short. 

Pupil: The body is not long. The legs are short. 

Pupil: The bones are thin. 

Teacher: Repeat that. 

Pupil: The bat is fitted for flying because its body is not long, its legs 

are short, and the bones are thin. 
Teacher : Why is the bird so light ? 
Pupil: The bird is Hght because the bones are filled with air and the 

body has air spaces. 
Teacher: The bat has not these advantages. But it has very large wings. 

(Boys examined the wings. The teacher measures the length of the 

wings from tip to tip.) The breadth of the wings is 43 cm. How 

great is the distance from tip to tip ? 
Pupil: The distance from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other wing 

is 43 cm. 
Teacher: Repeat that. 
Pupil: The distance from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other wing 

is 43 cm. 
(Then followed the description of the bat. The teacher would make one 

statement and then have it repeated twice at least. When the general 

description had been finished, three boys gave a summary of all the 

points.) 
Teacher: It flies as fast as a bird. It can guide itself in the air skillfully. 

It cannot fly from the ground because its legs are weak. Repeat that. 
Pupil: The bat can fly almost as fast as a bird. It can guide itself well 

in the air . . . 
Teacher: No, can guide itself skillfully in the air. 
Pupil: — can guide itself skillfully in the air. It cannot fly from the 

ground, because its legs are not strong. 
Teacher: No, because its legs are weak. 
Pupil: — because its legs are weak. 

Zoology. Sixth Grade. Hildesheim. 45 Boys 

Teacher : What aids the bird in flying ? 

Pupil: The shape of the breast-bone. 

Teacher : What is the shape of the breast-bone ? 



BIOLOGY 461 

Pupil: It is shaped like a ship or boat, and therefore the bird can fly 

through the air more easily. 
Teacher: What else is the breast-bone for? 
Pupil: The muscles are attached to the breast-bone. 
Teacher: What else aids the bird in flying? 
Pupil: The wings. 

Teacher: Yes, but I mean other equipment which aids the bird in flying. 
Pupil: The feathers are strong and stiff and so arranged that they cut 

through the air easily. 
Teacher: What else assists the bird in flying? 
Pupil: The bones are hollow and contain air. 
Teacher: Are the bones of the horse or cow hollow? 
Pupil: No, they are filled with marrow. 
Teacher: How do birds catch their prey? First, how they locate it and 

then how they seize it. 
Pupils: The birds locate their prey with their eyes. 
Teacher : How are the bird's eyes located to aid it in seeing prey easily ? 

Take the owl, for example. 
Pupil: The eyes are set fast in the owl's head. 
Pupil: The eyes are large and set so that the owl has a large angle of 

vision and can see in almost all directions at one time. 
Pupil: And then the owl's eyes have such large pupils that they can see 

easily at night. 
Teacher : What happens to the pupils of the bird's eyes or our eyes at night ? 
Pupil: The pupil of the eye becomes much larger, so that more light rays 

may enter. 
Teacher: In what other ways do birds locate their prey? 
Pupil: Some birds locate their prey by means of feeling. 
Teacher: The bat, for instance, locates its prey by feeling. It stretches 

out its wings, and when an insect comes near or in contact with them, 

the bat turns in that direction, and what is left for the bat to do ? 
Pupil: It has merely to open its mouth. 

******* 
Teacher: How are birds fitted out for catching their prey after they have 

located it ? 
Pupil: The owl has sharp claws and a beak. 
Teacher: Yes, the owl sees a mouse in the field, and like lightning swoops 

down upon it and seizes it with its claws. What would happen if the 

owl could not dart down quickly? 



462 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: The mouse would run into its hole. 

Teacher: What does the owl use its beak for? 

Pupil: The owl tears the mouse up with its beak. 

Teacher: Does the owl eat the fur too? (No answer.) Yes, it swallows 
it, but since fur is hard for the owl to digest, it vomits it out again, 
after it has rolled all the little pieces together in a ball in its stomach. 
How is the woodpecker fitted out to catch its prey ? 

Pupil: It has claws and a long beak. 

Teacher: That is right, but the claws are not used directly for catching 
the prey. What are the claws for? 

Pupil: The claws help to hold the woodpecker on the tree. 

Teacher : What kind of a foot or claw has the woodpecker ? 

Pupil: It has a climbing foot, two toes in front and two which point 
backward. 

Teacher : What else does the woodpecker use in climbing ? 

Pupil: The woodpecker uses its tail as a sort of a chair or stool. It is a 
climbing-tail. 

Teacher: Now as for the part which the woodpecker uses to catch its 
prey, what is that? 

Pupil: The woodpecker catches its prey with its beak. 

Teacher: What kind of wood does the woodpecker like best to work on? 

Pupil: Worm-eaten wood. 

Teacher: Why? 

Pupil: Because in this kind of wood there are worms which the wood- 
pecker eats. 

Teacher: First the woodpecker beats on the side of the tree opposite the 
worm holes. He does this to scare the worms or insects and they run 
towards the openings. Then he jumps around to the other side of the 
tree and waits. After a little he stabs his long beak in the hole to 
catch the worms. He has also a very long tongue. 

Teacher: (Showing the picture of an ostrich.) The ostriches live in Africa 
and generally run in herds. They are both wild and domestic. The 
domestic ostriches are used for hauling and riding. Give me the con- 
tent of that. 

Pupil: The ostrich is an African bird. They live in herds. Some are 
wild and some domestic. They are used for riding sometimes. 

Teacher: The ostrich is the largest bird. It is about two and one half 
meters in height, and weighs between fifty and sixty kilograms. It has 
a large body, a very small head, and Httle wings. 



BIOLOGY 463 

Pupil: The ostrich is a very large bird, about two and a half meters in 

height, and from fifty to sixty kilograms in weight. Its head is small. 

Its wings are also small. 
Teacher : Have you noticed anything strange about the legs of an ostrich ? 

(No answer.) The first joint is peculiarly arranged, it bends backward 

instead of forward. In this respect it is like the horse. Of what 

advantage is that? It enables the ostrich to run very rapidly. Can 

the ostrich fly? 
Pupil: Not very well, because it is very heavy and its wings are small. 
Teacher: The ostrich has no breast-bone, which is so necessary for fl}dng, 

as we have learned in other studies of birds. How would you describe 

the foot ? 
Pupil: The ostrich has two toes on each foot. It doesn't look as if the 

ostrich could sit on a limb very well. 
Teacher: That is right. To-morrow when we have more time we shall 

study the ostrich further as to what it eats, its young, its nest, and the 

like. 

Zoology. Eighth Year. Boys 

Teacher: We are going to study about the eagle to-day. What can you 

tell me about the eagle ? 
Pupil: We have learned in our study of the Alps in our geography period 

that the eagle hkes to hunt the chamois and the mountain goat. 
Pupil: The eagle is a very large bird. There is an eagle on every gold 

piece, and on banners and flags there is a flying eagle. Generally on 

coats of arms there is an eagle. 
Pupil: I have seen eagles on the buttons of the postman's uniform. 
Pupil: And also on all imperial documents. In the neighboring village, 

, there is the Eagle Apothecary shop, and in there is the 

Eagle drug store. 
Pupil: My mother buys Eagle chocolate. 
Teacher: It would be best if we could have a real eagle here to-day to 

examine. But we haven't, so we must travel a long way off. 
Pupil: We must go to the Alps. 

Teacher: And we must wait there a long, long time. Why? 
Pupil: The eagle very seldom permits us to see him, and besides there 

are not many eagles. 
Teacher: That's the reason many people in the Alps have never seen an 

eagle in flight. And we must satisfy ourselves with a picture. Here 



464 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

it is. Look at it carefully. Take plenty of time. (Children examine 

the picture.) 
Teacher: What do you see in the picture. Make the description orderly. 

(Teacher merely indicated pupils who were to recite.) 
Pupil: The big, old eagle has a rabbit in his beak. The beak is large 

and strong. 
Teacher: There is stiU more to be said about the beak. 
Pupil: The upper beak is very thick towards the back, and bent over like 

a sickle in front, and goes far out over the under part of the beak. 
Pupil: The eyes are large and yellow. They look very proud. 
Pupil: The head has sharp pointed feathers. Those on the back of the 

head are rusty brown. 
Pupil: The neck is strong and thick. It is covered with rusty-brown 

feathers like the head. 
Pupil: The feathers vary in color from brownish yellow to blackish brown. 
Pupil: The body is rather long and slender. 
Teacher: What about the wings? 

Pupil: The wings are long and they almost entirely cover the body. 
Pupil: The legs are strong and the feet are covered with feathers almost 

to the toes. 
Pupil: The talons are long, very strong, sharp, and sickle-shaped like the 

beak. Each foot has four powerful toes, which are yellow in appear- 
ance. Three of them are turned forward and one back. 
Pupil: Two young eagles are standing near the old one with their mouths 

wide open. They are rejoicing over the meal their father is preparing 

for them. They do not look much like the old eagle. 
Pupil: Their beaks and their talons are bent inward ; the wings are short, 

and soft downy feathers cover their bodies. 
Pupil: The picture represents an eagle's nest on a steep cliff. The nest is 

built out of dry branches. We can see high, snow-covered mountains 

and they are probably the Alps. 
Teacher: As you said, the eagle on our picture has a rabbit in his beak. 

How did he get this booty ? 
Pupil: He captured it. 

Teacher: For what purpose has he fetched a rabbit roast? 
Pupil: The old eagle and his young were hungry, so he went out foraging. 
Teacher: Yes, the eagle is always hungry. When he goes out from the 

nest, he flies spirally high into the air. What do you call that floating 

about in spiral Hues? 



BIOLOGY 465 

Pupil: Circles. 

Teacher: Flying in circles he watches continually. As soon as he notices 
something close by, he pounces Hke a flash upon it. But how can the 
eagle see things creeping or flying down below from such a height ? 

Pupil: He has to have sharp, far-seeing eyes. 

Teacher: That's it. Nothing escapes his unbeUevably sharp eyes. But 
why does none of his victims escape? 

Pupil: The eagle pounces upon them with the speed of an arrow. 

Teacher: But how can he throw himself Hke lightning from such an enor- 
mous height ? 

Pupil: His wings are very large and strong, and are shaped for this pur- 
pose. 

Teacher: An eagle of one meter in height can stretch out its wings two 
meters, from here to here. So we say that the eagle's span is two meters. 
Explain Klafterweite. 

Pupil: Klaftern means stretch out. 

Teacher: The animals which the eagle catches must see their enemy in 
the air before he swoops down. 

Pupil: He flies so high that he looks very small and cannot be recognized. 

Teacher: That's right. In this way the rabbit, running all unsuspecting 
across the field, is surprised and overpowered. Often the eagle looks 
like a mere dot in the sky. But why does the eagle go up so high? 

Pupil: In order that he may get a view of a very large amount of ground, 
for the higher he mounts, just so much the greater is his horizon. 

Teacher: How can the eagle descend so rapidly from on high? 

Pupil: He claps his wings close to his body and falls straight down- 
ward. 

Teacher : The eagle, however, must swing just a little out of a straight line, 
otherwise he would not come down on the right place. At the very 
last moment he spreads his wings out, otherwise, he would certainly 
crush himself on the ground. So he catches his booty. That is cruel 
of the eagle, but animals do not know any better. Let us turn back 
again to our picture. We have explained how the eagle catches his 
prey. How may the eagle tear up his booty? 

Pupil: With his beak, which is crooked and sharp, or with his four sharp, 
curved talons on his toes. 

Teacher: Draw his talons on the board quickly. Why are the beak and 
talons so sharp? 

Pupil: So they will sink into the flesh easily. 

2 H 



466 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: May not the wings also be helpful in the capture of prey ? Think 

what strength even a goose has in its wings, when a person wants to 

catch it. 
Pupil: When it is necessary, the eagle can beat furiously with its wings, 

for they are strongly built. 
Teacher: The legs are called clutches. Why, do you suppose? 
Pupil: They serve for catching things. 
Teacher: But how is it possible for the old eagle to carry the rabbit such 

a long distance to his family? 
Pupil: The beak is bent like a hook. You can see in the picture how the 

eagle holds his booty secure in his beak. 
Teacher: What else may have been helpful in carrying during the flight? 
Pupil: The hook-shaped talons. They are suited like the beak for carry- 
ing stuff away, for the prey gets hooked fast on them and cannot escape. 
Teacher: The talons and the beak are not sufficient. The eagle is fitted 

out in still another way. 
Pupil: A thick neck and powerful legs. The legs and neck have strong 

muscles. The eagle has also a broad breast-bone and a high comb. 
Teacher: Why is the flying ability of many birds small? 
Pupil: The domestic chicken and partridge have short, round, stubby 

wings, and a narrow breast-bone. 
Teacher: Summarize how the eagle is well fitted for capturing its booty. 
Pupil: The following items aid the eagle admirably in catching its prey: 

the sharpness of its eyes, the strength of its neck and leg muscles, the 

form of the beak and the talons, and the span of its wings. 
Teacher: Why does the old eagle fetch the rabbit? 
Pupil: In order to stUl the hunger of its young. 
Teacher: I suppose the young eagles get their own food sometimes. 
Pupil: Never. They still have short wings which are not able to raise 

their heavy bodies into the air. 
Teacher: What animals do the young eagles resemble? 
Pupil: They resemble young chickens, which are called puUets. 
Teacher: But? » 

Pupil: They are much larger. 
Teacher: How does the old eagle show himself to be when he gets his young 

everything that is necessary for their nourishment ? 
Pupil: Kind and considerate. 

Teacher : Do you know other animals that show great love for their young ? 
Pupil: The fox, the duck, and the hen. 



BIOLOGY 467 

Teacher: Are there any animals which do not care for their young? 

Pupil: To be sure. For example, the cuckoo that lays its eggs in the 
nest of a strange bird and lets them be hatched out by other birds. 
It never sees its young. 

Teacher: Young eagles are insessorial birds. What does that mean? 

Pupil: They come out of the egg naked and helpless and therefore must 
remain sitting in the nest a longer time and be fed by the parent birds. 

Teacher: The old eagles at first feed their young from their crops, then 
bring them raw meat ; and later, crippled animals in order to let them 
get practice in killing their prey ; and finally they let an animal escape 
in order to practice their young in hunting. How long do the young 
remain in the nest? 

Pupil: Until the young have wings long enough to fly out of the nest and 
get food for themselves. 

Teacher: What other animals are insessorial? 

Pupil: The dove, the starling, and the sparrow are birds whose young are 
raised in the nest. 

Teacher: The opposite of insessorial? 

Pupil: Autophagous birds; for example, the chicken, the partridge, quail, 
and the goose. Their young leave the nest immediately. 

Teacher: The old eagle teaches his young to fly. The figurative expres- 
sion, "I have borne you on the wings of an eagle," is derived from the 
first attempts of an eagle to fly. The following verse of the song, 
"Praise the Lord who rules over all, who guides you safely on the 
wings of an eagle." Further, "As an eagle stretches his wing over his 
young, so hath the arm of the Almighty covered me." But strange 
to say, the parental love of the eagle does not remain too long. As 
soon as the young can fly, they must leave the parental home and are 
never permitted to return. The eagle withdraws his support from his 
young, and never suffers them again in his vicinity. He compels them 
to seek their own hunting ground. If the old eagle sees one of his 
young in his territory again, there is a hard fight, which does not end 
happily. Why does the eagle act so hard and unlovely? 

Pupil: He thinks that otherwise he cannot find enough food. Besides he 
is a glutton and never satisfied. 

Teacher: WTiat animals does gluttony compel to live alone? 

Pupil: The mole, cuckoo, and the hamster. They do not allow their own 
kind in their hunting ground. 

Teacher: Summarize how the eagle treats its young. 



468 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: The eagle brings food to its young and cares for them well until 
they can fly. Then the young must leave the nest, and are never 
allowed to return to their parents' hunting ground or home. 

Teacher: How do you suppose the meals take place? 

Pupil: The old eagle tears up and divides the rabbit with his beak and 
claws, which are sharp and crooked for this purpose. 

Teacher: Can the young participate in the meal already? 

Pupil: Yes, they have sharp beaks and talons for tearing up meat. 

Teacher: What part of the rabbit do you suppose the eagles eat? 

Pupil: The meat, not the fur and bones. 

Teacher : Why not the fur and bones ? 

Pupil: Because they are hard and indigestible. 

Teacher: You are wrong. You are thinking about yourself. The eagle 
has a very excellent digestion, so that he eats the rabbit, fur, bones, 
and all. Lots of the bones, of course, he cannot swallow at once. 
The beak possesses no teeth. What must happen to the bones before 
they can be eaten? 

Pupil: The eagle must first break up the large bones before eating them. 

Teacher: Summarize: how the eagle devours his prey, hair, bones and all. 

Pupil: The eagle tears up his prey with his beak and talons and divides 
it among his young. The eagle eats not only the flesh but also the fur 
and bones. 

Teacher: Does the eagle like rabbit meat only? 

Pupil: He hunts chamois and mountain goat, too. 

Teacher: Many naturalists think that the eagle is not able to kill a chamois 
or a goat in spite of his great strength. I read in a book : "The eagle 
hunts rather large mammals and birds, especially fawns, does, rabbits, 
lambs, geese, and chickens. If forced by hunger, he even steals young 
animals in the very face of the shepherd, and carries them away in the 
air in his talons." What name does the eagle rightly bear? 

Pupil: He is a bird of prey that causes a great deal of harm by his gluttony. 

Teacher: As such he is the terror of the Alps. From where does he get 
his feathered prey ? 

Pupil: From barnyards, and from the vicinity of dwellings. 

Teacher: Cannot the eagle become dangerous in other respects? 

Pupil: Even to human beings. 

Teacher: And it is said that the eagle has really attacked people who were 
hunting him or wanted to take his prey from him. Indeed, in our 
reader it tells us that he has attacked children and hurled adults down 



BIOLOGY 469 

from narrow paths. We shall read the selection next period. But 
many say that the eagle is not dangerous to men, but that the bearded 
vulture which lives in the Alps is. I have brought along a picture of 
this bird. Of this gigantic bird, it says: "He is the terror of lambs 
and goats, upon which he pounces from on high. He tries to hurl into 
abysses animals and even men that happen to be on the rocks, and it 
is a proven fact that at times he has stolen children in mountainous 
districts." Give briefly what the eagle likes to eat and in what manner 
he is so destructive. 

Pupil: The eagle lives upon goats, chamois, sheep, chickens, small animals, 
like the rabbit and pheasants. The eagle is destructive of flocks and 
dangerous even to children and grown persons. 

Teacher: We were just speaking of the damage done by the eagle and the 
danger he causes. Is there no way to destroy this bird of prey ? 

Pupil: People try to shoot it. 

Teacher: But it is no easy matter to kill it. Explain why. 

Pupil: The eagle has a dark brown coat of feathers which is hard to dis- 
tinguish from the rocks. He lives in protected hidden places. He 
has sharp eyes and ears. Lastly he is afraid of men and therefore 
keeps in inaccessible places high in the mountains or flies so high that 
he cannot be reached. 

Teacher: The nest of the eagle is high up. But why so high up ? 

Pupil: His retreat is hidden. 

Teacher: In the picture we can see neither tree, nor man, nor even grass. 
Reason ? 

Pupil: Nothing can live there. There is no soil, only bare rocks. It is 
also too cold, for near by there are mountains covered with ice and 
snow. 

Teacher: Can you imagine why the eagle is called the "rock eagle"? 

Pupil: His home is on the barren rocks. 

Teacher: His regular home is on the mountain heights, but when he gets 
hungry, he leaves these heights. From here he makes his raids. Why 
does the eagle have his abode up so high ? Does he find his food any- 
where near at hand ? 

Pupil: Oh, no. The animals which are necessary for his food live a long 
way off. He lives here solely for protection and safety, for no other 
animal that can injure him lives up there. Even the hunter cannot 
climb near. His young are safe, even when he is out foraging. And 
then, too, he has a broad view of all his hunting territory. 



470 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: Doesn't it get too cold for the eagle up there? 

Pupil: No, because he has a thick, warm coat of feathers. 

Teacher: But as soon as the eagle thinks that some one has gotten on his 
trail, or has found out his nest, he moves out and finds another hiding 
place. Isn't it a pity to leave such a nest ? 

Pupil: The eagle's home doesn't deserve the name of nest. It is only a 
few dry branches. It is a pitiful home for the young eagles. 

Teacher: The eagle's nest has exactly the same name as the chicken 
hawk's. 

Pupil: Eyrie (nest). 

Teacher: What do you suppose it means, the eagle horstet? 

Pupil: The eagle builds an eyrie, he nests. 

Teacher: Horst means high horn. Explain. 

Pupil: The eagle's young are born high up. 

Teacher: Haven't you heard that word Horst before? 

Pupil: Lots of boys have that for a surname. 

Teacher: The eagle doesn't dwell in our mountains alone, but all over 
Europe and Asia. (Reading.) "The rock (golden) eagle inhabits the 
wooded mountain districts of Europe, North America, and Asia. It 
is found very seldom in Germany. Summarize why and how the 
eagle builds his nest up so high. 

Pupil: The eagle builds his nest high up on the mountain in order to pro- 
tect himself against his enemies. It is built of dry branches and twigs. 

Teacher: At our school games to-day you shot at an eagle with a sling. 
Describe your eagle. 

Pupil: He was made of wood, painted in bright colors, and wore a crown. 
In one claw he had a scepter and in the other an apple with a cross. 

Teacher: Did only your eagle have a crown? 

Pupil: No, the other classes had similar eagles, too. 

Teacher: But why a crown? 

Pupil: We consider the eagle to be the king of birds. 

Teacher: Why the king? 

Pupil: He is the strongest and most powerful of all the birds. 

Teacher: That's why he bears the name of "king's eagle." 
What makes him the king of birds ? 

Pupil: I. The eagle's size, being one meter high and the wings extending 
two meters. But the eagle is not the largest bird in the world, for 
that is the condor, which lives in the Andes in South America and is 
three meters from tip to tip of wing. 



BIOLOGY 471 

2. His strength, royal power. No animal is able to resist him. 

His strength comes from powerful bones and muscles. 
Pupil: 3. The eagle's speed is greatest. No animal can escape him. 

4. Majestic flight. Two great pointed wings with beautifully 

arranged feathers. The tail serves as a rudder and a brake. He has 

a broad breast-bone. 
Pupil: 5. He has royal garments. Rich feathering of golden brown. 

A long tail which appears white at the base, dark bands in the middle, 

and black at the tip. He has beautiful brown stockings on his legs; 

and yellow toes. 
Pupil: 6. Kingly carriage. He carries himself upright like a man. The 

eagle's walk is said not to be very graceful. 
Teacher: What is the cause of that? 
Pupil: His claws are bent too much. 
Teacher: Is the eagle an air bird or a land bird? 
Pupil: The eagle is more an air bird. 
Teacher: What else is kingly about the eagle? 
Pupil: 7. He has a kingly glance. His eyes are large, fiery, and sharp, 

flashing majestically. 
Pupil: 8. He has a royal dwelling place, high on the rocks. 
Teacher: To what words is the name Adler connected? 
Pupil: With adelig, and this word is derived from edel (noble). 
Teacher: What is noble in the eagle? 
Pupil: His carriage in flying and sitting. 
Teacher: What people are called noble or nobility? 
Pupil: Princes, kings, and emperors. The highest persons belong to the 

rank of nobility. 
Teacher: Now you can see why the eagle was placed formerly on coins, 

stamps, and arms. 
Pupil: The eagle expresses courage, strength, and power. 

The eagle is the symbol of princely power and victorious might. 
The eagle from olden times has been the symbol of majesty and 

victory, for example, the eagle of Jove and the golden eagle of the 

Romans. The old Germans wore an eagle on their helmets as an 

ornament. Hermann, the liberator of Germany, had an eagle helmet. 
Teacher: What countries have the eagle on their coat-of-arms? 
Pupil: Germany, Russia, and Austria. 
Teacher: Is it fitting for these nations to have this emblem? 
Pupil: Yes, they are strong and powerful. 



472 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: What position does the eagle have on coins, flags, stamps, and 
arms ? ( 

Pupil: In full flight, for in this position he looks best. 

Teacher: Here are coins and stamps. Look at them. Many people re- 
ceive the "Order of the Eagle." What is that? 

Pupil: That is the highest order in Prussia. Only men who have per- 
formed great service get it. 

Teacher: Now summarize. Tell what makes the eagle king of all birds 
and why he is the symbol of power. 

Pupil: The eagle is king of all birds because of his size, strength, kingly 
flight, and appearance. For these reasons he is the symbol of power 
and strength. 

Teacher: Now summarize all we have learned about the eagle. 

Pupil: The keenness of sight, the strength of the wings and neck, the 
shape of the beak and claws, as well as swiftness in flight, fit the eagle 
for catching its prey. 

(Lesson continued on the following day.) 

Teacher: You have already studied about the birds of prey and other 
birds related to the eagle. 

Pupil: We have studied the chicken hawk. 

Teacher: Look at this stuffed hawk and this picture. How is the hawk 
fitted out for preying? 

Pupil: It has a sharp beak for overcoming its booty. The upper beak 
is bent Hke a hook and projects over the lower beak. It is suitable 
for tearing the victim to pieces. The hawk can seize and hold its prey 
fast with its feet. The toes have long, bent claws. The shape of the 
wing makes swift flight possible. 

Teacher: There is something that you can't see either in the picture or 
from the stuffed model. 

Pupil: The eyes must be good. 

Teacher: Still other birds of prey are known to you? 

Pupil: The house-hawk and the barn-owl. 

Teacher: Look at these models of the house-hawk and the barn-owl. 
Prove that the house-hawk (mouse-hawk) is built well for its purpose. 

Pupil: The house-hawk has large wings which stretch out over one meter 
and with which it can pounce down quickly upon its prey. Sharp, 
long toes catch the victim, and the sharp, needle-like claw can sink easily 
into the flesh. The beak is sharp and bent for tearing food to pieces. 
The eyes are sharp so it can see a mouse from on high. 



BIOLOGY 473 

Teacher: Look at the barn-owl and at the picture. 

Pupil: The barn-owl has a bent beak, and long, sharp claws, so it, too, is 

well suited for capturing animals. 
Teacher: Finally we shall look briefly at the picture of the fifth bird of 

prey we are to study. Describe it. 
Pupil: The vulture has short toes with blunt claws, and a powerful beak. 

The neck is feathered. The feathers of the back are black, those of 

the neck and breast are reddish yellow. Under the beak there is a 

beard-like tuft of feathers. 
Teacher: That's why it is called the bearded vulture. 

The result of our discussion is as follows : (writing). 

1. Classification: Birds of prey are large, powerful birds, with 
strong, sharp, hooked beaks ; sharp bent claws on the toes ; live chiefly 
on meat. 

2. Scientific principle: The bodily structure of birds of prey 
suited to their manner of life. 

Teacher : Are the above-named birds of prey entirely injurious ? 

Pupil: No, the house-hawk hunts field mice, rats, hamsters, locusts, and 
vipers. The barn-owl exterminates many mice and rats. These birds 
are very useful. On the other hand, the chicken hawk destroys birds, 
doves, and chickens. 

Teacher : What purpose does the beak of these birds serve ? 

Pupil: It serves for tearing up, for killing, carrying off, and defense. 

Teacher: Isn't there anything good to be said of the eagle? 

Pupil: Majestic flight, appearance, and good care of its young. 

Teacher: What is meant by eagle eyes? 

Pupil: Sharp eyes. 

Teacher: What is meant by eagle glance? 

Pupil: Sharp glance. 

Teacher: What is meant by eagle flight? 

Pupil: Very swift flight. 

Teacher : By aquiline nose ? 

Pupil: A nose like the beak of an eagle. 

Teacher: Explain the following expressions. 

(New words were defined.) 

Teacher: Explain mouse-hawk. 

Pupil: It lives chiefly on mice. 

Teacher: Explain barn-owl (veil-owl). 

Pupil: The feathers form a veil about the beak and eyes. 



474 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Teacher: A plant in our own forest is named after the eagle. 

Pupil: The eagle fern. The cross section of its rootstock has the appear- 
ance of an eagle. 

Teacher: Prove that the eagle is constructed so as to aid in its nourishment. 

Pupil: Its food is chiefly flesh and its beak and claws are formed for catch- 
ing, hunting, slaying of its prey. 

Teacher: Show that the eagle is constructed in accordance with the move- 
ments it is required to make. 

Pupil: The wings are long and pointed. The body is comparatively light 
and thin so it can cut through the air easUy. The tail serves as a 
rudder and a brake. 

Teacher: How is the eagle protected from its enemies? 

Pupil: Its dwelling place protects it and its young, as do its color, senses, 
claws, and strength. 

Teacher: That's why eagles can live for a hundred years. Now what bird 
of prey do you know ? 

Pupil: The eagle. 

Teacher: Next time write a composition about what you admire in the 
eagle. 

And draw an outline of the eagle's head. 

(In connection with the lesson in biology, the children read in their readers 
selections entitled, "The Golden Eagle," "The Election of the King 
among the Birds," "The Eagle and the Raven" (^Esop), and "The 
Eagle and the Tortoise" (iEsop)). 



CHAPTER XXI 
PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 

One of the striking differences between the German and the 
American courses of study in the lower schools is the amount of 
time devoted to elementary physics and chemistry. These sub- 
jects are not ordinarily a part of the course in our country, while 
they are always taught in the German Volksschulen during the 
last three years, which correspond to our sixth, seventh, and 
eighth grades. In boys' schools physics and chemistry together 
receive two hours each week for three years. The time is divided 
equally between the subjects. The number of hours for these 
subjects in girls' schools is usually less. 

The contents of the courses of study vary greatly in different 
sections of the country according to the needs and to the facili- 
ties for teaching. We give below the course of study course of 
for the Berlin schools which is general enough to allow ^^^^^ 
wide selection in the choice of particular topics to be taught. 

Class 3. Boys' school. 2 hours. 

First semester : Heat. 

Second semester : Elementary principles of solids, liquids, and gases. 
Class 2. 2 hours. 

First semester : Topics from inorganic chemistry and mineralogy. 

Second semester : Magnetism, electricity, galvanics. 
Class I. 3 hours. 

First semester : Conclusion of topics from inorganic chemistry. Or- 
ganic chemistry. 

Second semester : Mechanics, sound, light. 

These names appear rather formidable for youngsters of ele- 
mentary school age, but the topics selected and the method of 

475 



476 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

treatment are very simple and practical, suited in every way 

to the understanding of the child. The regular elementary 

school in Hannover is only seven years in length and 

Topics , 

the boys have physics and chemistry in the last two 
years only, while the girls have it only for one year — the sixth 
grade. The lists of topics in the boys' schools are as follows : 

Class 2 (sixth year). Sources of heat; expansion of solids, liquids, and 
gases by heat ; the thermometer ; currents in water and air ; melting and 
freezing; steam, vaporization, condensation; atmospheric precipitations; 
the steam engine; conduction, radiation, and convection of heat; equi- 
librium, center of gravity; the lever; balances; inclined plane; friction; 
adhesion; capillarity; expansion of the air; air pressure; barometer; 
pumps; fire engine; cause of sound; tones; transmittance and speed of 
sound ; the ear ; reflection of sound ; echo ; fundamental magnetic phe- 
nomena ; magnetic distribution ; terrestrial magnetism ; compass ; electri- 
cal phenomena; electrical conductivity; positive and negative electricity; 
electrophor ; Leyden jar ; electrical machine ; thunder, lightning ; lightning 
rod. 

Class I (seventh year), (a) Attraction ; gravity ; weight ; pulleys ; wheel 
and axle ; block and tackle ; falling bodies ; pendulum ; centrifugal and cen- 
tripetal force ; law of machines ; water wheel ; turbine ; swimming ; specific 
gravity; luminous and non-luminous bodies; transmission of light; re- 
flection of light ; plane mirrors ; convex and concave mirrors ; refraction of 
light ; lenses ; colored light ; rainbow ; the human eye ; optical instruments ; 
galvanic elements and series ; effects of the galvanic current ; electromag- 
netism; the telegraph; the telephone; induction, (b) The air; oxygen; 
nitrogen; water; hydrogen; oxidation; carbon; carbon dioxide; carbon 
monoxide; sulphur; phosphorus; common salt; chlorine; sodium; potas- 
sium. (Study of alkali works at Ronnenberg) : calcium carbonate ; chalk 
deposits near Hannover; manufacture of glass; silicic acid; glass factories 
and cement factories near Hannover; coins; precious metals, copper; 
nickel ; iron ; gas plant ; food elements from the plant kingdom ; starch ; 
gluten; bread; alcoholic drinks; vinegar; fermentation; making of sugar; 
sugar factories in Diesterland near Hannover; food elements from the 
animal kingdom ; albumen ; casein ; fat ; putrefaction ; preserving. 

Class 2 (sixth year). Girls. The thermometer; atmospheric precipita- 
tion ; steam engine ; the balances ; the pendulum clock ; water mains ; swim- 



PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 477 

ming; lamp wick; pumps; barometer; bicycle pump; the ear and sound; 
the eye and light ; telegraph ; the telephone ; electric street railway .^ 

Of course, the above outline serves only in a general way to 
show what range and kind of topics are chosen for the course. 
The topics vary very greatly. In some places the topics selected 
are very practical and the topics dealt with have to do solely 
with physical and chemical phenomena of daily life. This is 
particularly true of the courses for girls ! In other places the 
subject is treated more abstractly and from the viewpoint of 
formal discipHne. As far as our observation went, the topics 
selected were most practical in character and in application. 
The lessons were all concerned with the everyday physical and 
chemical phenomena. They dealt with those things of com- 
mon life which every intelligent citizen should know, but which 
he seldom knows. In cities the topics had to do with the physics 
and chemistry of life in the city, while in the country the topics 
dealt with the chemistry and physics with relation to agriculture. 

As in geography, physics and chemistry are taught for a two- 
fold purpose — first, to attain practical knowledge of the phys- 
ical and chemical phenomena of the world round Purpose of 
about, and second to attain the formal disciplinary Subjects 
value inherent in the method and content of the subjects. This 
is at least the ideal which German teachers profess to have in 
mind. According to the General Regulations of 1872, 

the children are to be made acquainted with those phenomena of nature 
with which they daily come in contact. In the several-class Volksschule^ 
the subject matter is to be broadened to such an extent that the most im- 
portant principles of equilibrium, motion, sound, light, heat, magnetism, 
electricity are taught in order that the children will be able to explain the 
more common phenomena of nature and ordinary machines. 

Instruction is to start with observation, which is to be aided by experi- 
ments, at least in schools with several classes. ^ 

1 Lehr plan fur die Biirgerschulen der . . . Stadt Hannover, Cruse, 19 13, Hannover. 
* General Regulations of 1872. 



478 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

The method used in physics and chemistry in the Volksschule 
is always based on observation. If the topic is the 
electric bell, the teacher always has an electric bell 
and may also have diagrams or charts of it to aid in explanation. 
Experiments are used in so far as equipment allows. 
The teacher as a rule performs all experiments. 
The Realienbuch is the text. It is very seldom used until 
the teacher has presented the subject matter and explanation in 
class. The descriptive and illustrative material in the book 
are largely a resume of that which the teacher presents. These 
texts, however, are very helpful to the children. The explana- 
tions are non-technical and extremely simple with sufficient 
illustrations to make the text clear. In the text-book by Kahn- 
meyer and Schulze, used in Berlin, out of a total of 552 pages in 
the science reader, no pages are devoted to physics and chemis- 
try. The following is a translation, which is given to show the 
character of the reading matter in a modern Realienbuch: 

Starch and Sugars 

1. Starch. — It is found in microscopic form in those cells of plants 
which serve as food depositories, for example, in the cells of roots and 
seeds. We obtain starch chiefly from potatoes and wheat. Try to 
dissolve starch in water. Put some starch in water and heat it. Starch 
absorbs water on heating and swells up to such an extent that a gummy 
mass is formed. To a dilute starch solution we add a solution of iodine ; 
it becomes dark blue. Upon boiling the color disappears, but reappears 
on cooHng. Taste sprouted barley. In sprouting of seeds a ferment 
(diastase) is formed, under the influence of which starch is changed to 
sugar. 

2. Dextrin. We warm dry starch up to 170-200 degrees C, con- 
stantly stirring. It becomes yellow, then brown. The iodine wiU no 
longer bring out the blue color. This substance formed from starch is 
dextrin. Pour water on the dextrin. The dextrin dissolves and forms 
a sticky mass, which can be used as a glue instead of gum arabic. Dextrin 

1 Kahnmeyer and Schulze, Realienbuch, p. 539, Berlin, 19 10. 



PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 479 

is also used in dyeing, likewise in ironing. Dextrin is also formed in 
baking. The heat of the oven acts so upon the outside of the bread that 
the starch is changed to dextrin. It is this dextrin which holds the 
particles of starch together in the form of a hard crust which we notice 
on the top of the bread. If we paint the hot crust with water, the dextrin 
dissolves; then if we put the bread back in the oven again, the crust 
becomes very glossy and smooth, 

3. Grape Sugar. Notice the separation of sugar in raisins and 
plums, as also particles of sugar, which crystallize out of honey. Com- 
pare its taste to that of cane sugar. Where does grape sugar appear? 
We make it out of cane sugar or out of starch. Compare its taste and 
solubility with that of cane sugar. A grape sugar solution is reddened 
by a Fehling solution. Since starch sugar is a substitute for honey, it is 
used for that in sweetening honey and spice cakes. It is used a great 
deal in making candy. Starch sugar is used a great deal for coloring 
food products. For this purpose sugar colors are made out of it. How 
is it to be explained that frozen potatoes taste sweet ? 

It is customary in all of the larger cities such as Berlin and 
Stettin to have a science reader prepared to meet the needs of 
the community and the course of study. Thus the ^ . 

. . Topics 

book just quoted from was vi^ntten to satisfy the de- Treated in 
mands of the BerHn course of study. We shall give a 
list of the topics dealing vi^ith heat which are taken up in the above 
quoted text-book. Each large subject in physics and chemistry 
is handled in much the same way. The reading matter is as a 
rule about as technical as the paragraphs dealing with sugar. 

I. Heat. 

A . Effects of Heat. 

I. Expansion of bodies by heat. 
{a) Expansion of solid bodies. 
{h) Expansion of liquids, 
(c) Expansion of gases. 
{d) Thermometer. 

Mercurial thermometer. 
Alcohol thermometer. 
(e) Irregular expansion of water. 



48o PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

2. Changes of Form produced by Heat. 
(a) Melting and freezing. 
^ (b) Heat of fusion. 

(c) Heat of solution. 

(d) Boiling-point. 

(e) Steam, its expansion. 
(/) Condensation of steam. 

B. Transmission of Heat. 

1. Conduction — good and bad conductors; application of heat 

conductors. 

2. Heat radiation; character, direction, and effects of heat rays; 

injfiuence of the surface upon radiation. 

C. Sources of Heat. 

1. The sun. 

2. Chemical processes. 

3. Mechanical work. 

4. Electricity. 

D. Heat Phenomena in the Atmosphere. 

1. Vaporization. 

2. Humidity. 

3. Atmospheric precipitations. 

(a) Dew and frost. 

(b) Fog and clouds. 

4. Currents of air. 

(a) Origin. 

(b) Land and sea winds. 

(c) Trade winds. 

Many may oppose chemistry and physics in the elementary 
school. The Germans hold that in order to be an efficient Ger- 
Practicai ^^^ citizen each child must acquire an elementary 
Natm-e of knowledge of ordinary things. The child on leaving 
in Chemis- school should know about the telephone, the telegraph, 
^ simple machines, the chemistry of butter, meat, sanita- 

tion, and the like. The outline of a course in chemistry as given in 
a German school is given to show the practical nature of the work : 

1 . The air ; oxygen ; nitrogen ; burning ; oxidation ; ores that are oxides. 

2. Water ; drinking water ; distilled water ; characteristics of water. 



PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 481 

3. Fire; the flame; carbon; diamond; graphite; oxides of carbon; 
soda water ; chemistry of respiration. 

4. Heating and Hghting. Substances; wood; peat; soft coal; 
anthracite coal ; petroleum ; illuminating gas ; ammonia ; paraffin ; car- 
boHc acid and other by-products in the manufacture of gas; carbon 
monoxide ; lighting devices and lamps. 

5. Matches ; sulphur ; sulphur dioxide ; hydrogen disulphide ; phos- 
phorus; gun-powder. 

6. Common salt ; sodium ; soda ; chlorine ; hydrochloric acid, potas- 
sium and potash salts. 

7. Calcium; lime; brick; gypsum. 

8. Glassware and pottery; saHcic acid; silicates; making of glass; 
manufacture of pottery ; glazing ; feldspar ; aluminium. 

9. Coins; gold; silver; copper; nickel; tin; zinc. 

10. Iron; mining and milling of iron; iron industry in Berlin; iron 
compounds. 

11. Soils; composition of the soil ; manures. 

12. Sugar and starch; grape sugar; beet sugar; cane sugar; milk 
sugar ; malt sugar ; starch ; dextrin ; sugar and starch as foods. 

13. Beer, wine, and vinegar; manufacture; alcohol and its abuse. 

14. Meal and bread; planting of grain; grinding of the meal; bak- 
ing of bread. 

15. Milk, butter, and cheese; composition of milk; changes in milk; 
preservation of milk; nutritive value of milk; making of butter; arti- 
ficial butter ; making of cheese. 

16. Fats, soaps, and glycerin; characteristics of fats; manufacture 
of soaps; action of soap; making of stearin candles, glycerin; nitro- 
glycerin ; nutritive value of fats. 

17. Eggs and meat. 

18. Vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms. 

19. Coffee, tea, cocoa, and tobacco. 

20. Paper and ink ; their manufacture. 

21. Leathers and tannery. 

22. Dyes and dyeing. 

All of these topics are taken up in the very simplest manner 
possible. We were struck by the simplicity of the explana- 
tions and the practical nature of the illustrations used by the 
teacher. 

2 1 



482 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



II 



As in other subjects the teacher usually was the source of 
most of the material and the statements made concerning what- 
ever topic there was under discussion. Very rarely 
tion of Sub- did the teacher ever begin by getting the children to 
jec a er ^^jj what their experience had been or their knowledge 
of anything was. For example, a teacher was beginning the 
study of the balances. He had a certain type of balances in 
his hand. His first statements were, — "This is a pair of 
balances. What is this?" This is a very common practice 
among teachers of elementary science. They do not give the 
children any chance at all to express what they have seen. 
There were some exceptions to this method of procedure. Ordi- 
narily the children repeat what they are told to say and see only 
that which they are told to see. Let it be said, however, that 
the teacher always touches the essential points, so when through 
the child does know something about what he has studied. 

Practically all teachers used some form of experimentation. 
Particularly the rural teachers were very resourceful in getting 
Experimen- experimental material and supplies at a very little 
tation (>Qg^^ either of time or of money. The experimentation 

in almost all schools is carried out by the teacher ; the children 
merely look on and see what happens. One very excellent 
feature of this phase of the work was the preparation teachers 
had always made previous to the beginning of the lesson. 
Whether the experiment was in a laboratory or in an ordinary 
classroom there was never a failure in a lesson that I saw. The 
material was always on hand, and the whole list of experiments 
went off like clockwork. Every lesson made its point, and 
made it clearly and definitely. 

Only the newer and more modern schools have laboratories 
for science instruction. Ordinarily the experiment is carried on 
in a regular classroom; the teacher does the best he can to 
make conditions favorable. The materials are always kept in 



PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 483 

the general storeroom and are brought to the classroom by the 
teacher or by the pupils. This is about all the activity the 
children get in this work, except when they assist a 

,. , . , 1 r r 1 • T Laboratories 

uttle m the actual performance of the experiment. In 
the newer schools one finds a large room or a small amphi- 
theater devoted exclusively to science work. In this room are 
the chemical and physical apparatus and suppHes; a lecture 
and demonstration table; water, light, electricity, and gas con- 
nections; and often a stereopticon. This is a vast improve- 
ment over the old system of carrying out the experiments in the 
regular classrooms and it may be the ideal way for elementary 
science work. 

Under the influence of the movement now afoot in Germany 
which calls for more self-activity on the part of the pupil, a few 
schools have put in laboratories with individual cabi- Laboratory 
nets and desks, where, under the teacher's guidance, Work, 
each pupil carries out his own experiments. This plan was used 
in the Arheitsschule at Dortmund, but it is rarely found in 
Germany. However, it is permissible for a teacher to get up 
volunteer classes to do such work after school. 

Physical and chemical apparatus is much cheaper in Ger- 
many than in America ; it is also much better. Though it may 
be cheap, many German teachers with their pupils 
have become collectors of apparatus and inventors of 
substitutes. Ink bottles are made over into alcohol lamps ; tin 
can lids are made into scales ; darning needles are used as axles ; 
fruit cans are used as battery jars ; cigar boxes for wooden 
apparatus, and so on. Whether the apparatus is made at home 
or bought, there is always enough to give the course in a very 
satisfactory way. The cost of apparatus is perhaps the strongest 
argument against individual desks in the laboratory and experi- 
mentation by the pupils. It would cost enormous sums to fit 
up laboratories for ten million children. 



484 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Some teachers hold that a child should experiment to find 
out the laws of nature. The majority of German teachers hold 
to the opinion that experiments by the pupil can only 
Experimen- serve to substantiate observations he himself has made 
***^°° and to better fix such observations in the child's mind 

because he has worked with the thing, has seen it, felt it, and not 
merely heard of it. 

Chemistry and physics are among the newer subjects in the 
elementary curriculum in Germany. The teachers say that 
they consider these two subjects of very great impor- 
tance and that their presence in the course is justifiable. 
Germany of to-day is intensely commercial, industrial, and 
materialistic, even more so than America. Physical and chemi- 
cal knowledge enters into almost every phase of a German's 
daily life. In the country the farmer has a great need for chemi- 
cal knowledge, for it is only by the application of chemistry to 
the soil that Germany has been able to produce such enormous 
quantities of foodstuffs and to support her very large popula- 
tion. In the city there are even more demands for some use of 
physical and chemical laws in many occupations and callings. 
Naturally all of this knowledge is not obtained in the Volks- 
schulen, but what the common day laborer needs to know is 
acquired in the period of school life before apprenticeship. Some 
of the methods employed in teaching these subjects are not 
ideal by any means, but the fundamental principle that it is 
necessary that the child know his environment is absolutely 
sound. 

Chemistry. Steglitz. School No. 5. 45 Boys. Eighth Gkade 

Teacher: I have here in a bottle some sulphur and here I have some iron 

filings. I am going to mix them. What am I doing? 
Pupil: You are mixing sulphur and iron filings. 
Teacher: How does the mixture look? 
Pupil: The mixture looks gray and yellow. 



PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 485 

Teacher: Here I have a magnet. What are the properties of a magnet ? 

Pupil: A magnet will attract iron. 

Teacher: (Performs the experiment — separating the sulphur and the iron 
by stirring the magnet around in the mixture and withdrawing the 
iron which cHngs to the magnet.) What is the result ? 

Pupil: The iron has been removed from the mixture by means of a magnet. 

Teacher: When I mix sulphur and iron filings I get a mixture; with the 
help of a magnet I can extract the iron. Repeat that. 

Pupil: I put iron filings and sulphur together and I get a mixture. I can 
at any time separate them by holding a magnet in the mixture. The 
filings chng to the magnet and thus the mixture is broken up. 

Teacher: Very good. Now I take a test tube. What is it? 

Pupil: It is a test tube. 

Teacher: In the test tube I put some of the mixture of iron and sulphur 
and I heat it. What am I doing? 

Pupil: You are heating it. 

Teacher: I am heating the mass. Fumes arise. What happens when 
the mixture is heated ? 

Pupil: Fumes arise from the mixture when it is heated. 

Teacher: The mixture when heated forms a hard mass. (Breaks the 
test tube and shows the product to the class.) How does it smell ? 

Pupil: It smells very badly. 

Teacher: The iron has united with the sulphur, forming iron sulfide. 
The heat brought about the chemical combination and caused the 
compound to be formed. What is this compound ? 

Pupil: The compound is iron sulfide. 

Teacher: How was it made ? 

Pupil: A mixture of iron filings and sulphur was heated in a test tube. 
The heat caused the formation of a chemical compound, iron sulfide. 

Teacher: How do I get this chemical compound? 

Pupil: You get iron sulfide by heating a mixture of iron and sulphur. 

Teacher: I can't separate iron and sulphur in this compound by means 
of a magnet. Show the difference between a mixture and a compound. 

Pupil: A chemical mixture can very easily be broken up, while a com- 
pound is more difficult. 

Teacher: A compound consists of several substances united in such a way 
as to change the nature of the substances involved. If there is only 
one thing in a substance, it is called an element. A mixture does not 
change the nature of the substances put together. Repeat that. 



486 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: A compound consists of several substances combined. There is 
a change in the nature of each substance. A mixture does not affect 
the substances used. 

Teacher: I can break up the iron sulfide by the addition of some hydro- 
chloric acid. (He performed this experiment, forming two new com- 
pounds, iron chloride and hydrogen sulfide.) Almost all compounds 
can be broken into their elements, but it is not very easy, not nearly 
so easy as it is to break up mixtures. When we look about us we see 
two large classes of substances, elements and compounds. In all there 
are 87 elements. Here are some. This is potassium, this is iron ; so- 
dium, phosphorus. What are these substances? 

Pupil: They are elements. 

Teacher: These elements are related to each other. When they unite 
they form compounds. Chalk is such a compound — it is calcium 
carbonate — made up of calcium, carbon, and oxygen. What is this? 
Is it an element or a compound ? 

Pupil: That is a piece of chalk. It is a compound. It contains carbon, 
oxygen, and . . . 

Pupil: Calcium. 

Teacher: This is sulphuric acid. What is this? 

Pupil: That is sulphuric acid. 

Teacher: I am going to add some diluted sulphuric acid to some chalk. 
The acid destroys the compound, calcium carbonate or chalk, and 
new compounds are formed. (Performs the experiment.) That gas 
you see going off is carbon dioxide and gypsum remains in the test tube. 
What have we learned so far about a mixture ? 

Pupil: A mixture was made by putting sulphur and iron filings together 
and then we separated the two by means of a magnet, the iron filings 
clinging to the magnet. The substances were not changed. 

Teacher: What is a compound ? What did I use to make one ? 

Pupil: A mixture of iron filings and sulphur was heated and a new com- 
pound, iron sulfide, was formed. Substances used in making a com- 
pound are changed and are not easily separated. 

Teacher: What do compounds consist of? 

Pupil: Compounds are made up of elements in chemical combination. 

Teacher: What happened to the chalk? 

Pupil: By adding sulphuric acid to the chalk, the chalk was broken up. 
Carbon dioxide passed off as gas, and gypsum was formed. 

Pupil: Gypsum is used in making casts and statuettes. 



PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 487 

Teacher: Why must one work rapidly with this substance? 

Pupil: It becomes hard very quickly. 

Teacher: We call the change in chalk which we have just seen a chemical 
process. In a chemical process old compounds are changed and new 
ones were formed. What were the old compounds and the new ones 
in the chemical process which we have just seen ? 

Pupil: The old compounds were chalk and sulphuric acid. The new 
compounds were gypsum and carbon dioxide. 

Teacher: (He took some clean zinc and a beaker filled with water.) I put 
some zinc in some water. When zinc is put in contact with oxygen 
there is a new compound formed — zinc oxide. When any metal is 
combined with oxygen an oxide is formed. What is formed ? 

Pupil: When a metal combines with oxygen an oxide is formed. 

Teacher: You notice that the zinc is already covered over by this oxide. 
There are metals and non-metals. Metals generally have a silver- 
like appearance when freshly cut, but this surface becomes dulled when 
exposed to the air or to oxygen. If I now add some acid (HCl) to the 
beaker containing the water and zinc, bubbles begin to rise. These 
bubbles are hydrogen gas, and there is a new substance, zinc chloride, 
formed. What did we do ? 

Pupil: We put some zinc in water and let it stand a while. Then some 
hydrochloric acid was added. New compounds were formed. Hy- 
drogen gas was given off and zinc chloride was formed. 

Teacher: We shaU write a composition, about the work this morning some 
day next week. Now what did we do in this last experiment ? 

Pupil: We put some zinc in water. Then we added some hydrochloric 
acid. 

Teacher: What did we see? 

Pupil: First the zinc was covered by a grayish substance, zinc oxide. 
Then after the acid was added, bubbles of hydrogen gas arose. A new 
substance, zinc chloride, was formed. The beaker got warm. 

Teacher: Yes, that is an important point. In every chemical process, 
heat is evolved. What is a mixture? What is a compound? We 
shall answer those questions in our next composition. 



CHAPTER XXII 
SEWING 

Sewing is a required subject in all girls' schools in Germany. 

In fact it is one of the very oldest subjects of instruction in 

girls' schools, having been introduced into the curric- 

Prevalence 

ulum when the only other branches taught were read- 
ing, writing, and singing. It was made obligatory in the Prussian 
public Volksschulen for girls in 1872, although it had been taught 
in a more or less systematic way in the schools of all German 
states for centuries. 

The purpose of sewing in the Volksschulen is first of all to 
teach the girls how to prepare those articles of clothing and of 

general household use which are absolutely indispens- 
Aim 

able to every family. In the second place a very 

great deal of attention is given to darning, patching, mending, 
and repairing of clothes and household goods. On the peda- 
gogical side sewing is supposed to arouse the spirit of independent 
work in the children as well as to encourage economy, orderli- 
ness, the sense of color and form, and enjoyment of constructive 
work. The reader may judge how much the pedagogical phases 
of the subject are really considered. 

In sewing more than in some other subjects the course of 
study differs greatly according to the size of the school and the 
Course of number of classes. The course must be limited in 
study country schools or in many small town schools on ac- 

count of the lack of time and teaching force. The following is 
about what one would find in an ordinary country school. 

488 



SEWING 489 

Third school year : Knitting, a pair of children's stockings. 

Fourth and fifth years : Pair of ladies' hose ; making of heels ; darning 
of heels. 

Sixth year: Sewing bag, handkerchiefs and towels are hemmed; and 
sewing simple aprons. 

Seventh year : Underwear for women ; canvas for marking. 

Eighth year : Man's shirt. Patching, mending, and darning of old arti- 
cles of clothing. 

The course of study for the Berlin schools is given next. It 
covers six years, beginning with the third grade. 

Class 6. Two hours. Introduction to sewing. The first sewing exer- 
cises are to be on pieces of stiff canvas about 20 cm. square, with needles 
and red embroidery cotton. No. 8. These exercises include the running- 
stitch, quilting-stitch, back-stitch, and the cross-stitch. The cross-stitch 
is first to be practiced as an under-stitch lying from left to right, 
then as a top-stitch, lying from right to left, and finally as the finished 
cross-stitch in horizontal and perpendicular lines in simple patterns or in 
some Latin letters. Beginning knitting. Class work : a knitting bag of 
about sixty stitches is to be done with strong cotton. No. 7 or No. 8 needle. 
Practice of right and left stitches, and joining them together. About thirty 
hours are to be given to this work. 

Class 5. Two hours. The knitting is to be continued on a pair of 
stockings of about sixty-four stitches. Material : strong, imitation Vigogne. 
Size of needle. No. 7 or 8. 

Class 4. Two hours. Sewing on a practice piece of cloth about thirty cm. 
square, of linen or half linen. Running stitch; back-stitch, two simple 
seams, bound together by a whip seam ; three or four flat turned seams, 
fastening of borders by broad quilting seams on the upper and lower sides 
and by edging on the right and left side ; buttonholes ; sewing on buttons 
and hooks and eyes. Also two letters and the date in cross-stitch. Knit- 
ting exercise in making heels and a cap. 

Class 3. Three hours. A prize shirt is made from 1.5 m. of linen or 
shirting. . . . Drawing the pattern and cutting the pattern in paper 
precede the cutting out in cloth. The finished shirt is to be marked with 
letters done in cross-stitch. Knitting, stocking heels and caps. 

Class 2. Four hours. Repairing ; patching and darning, three hours 
for patching and one hour for darning. Patching includes inserted patches 
and patches which are merely laid over the hole. Patches are done first 



490 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

in white and figured wash goods, and then in plain and figured woolens. 
Darning takes up first darning of knitted socks. Then the work is extended 
by learning to attach parts of stockings by means of the knitting stitch, 
and the knitting in of heels when the foot is entirely separated. Next comes 
the darning of holes and tears, first on practice pieces and then different 
materials. It is desirable that the darning be done on the patching pre- 
viously executed. 

White and figured wash goods, and also plain and figured 
woolens are used for the patching ; and for darning, sock yarn, 
and darning yarn. Besides these, the use of other common ma- 
terials will be allowed for patching and darning. 

Class I. Four hours. Making a shirt waist. First the drawing and 
cutting of the pattern in paper, then in the material, finally the sewing of 
the waist. A piece of wash goods, 80 cm. by 1.7 m. is to be used. 

Embroidery. — Learning the alphabet in diagonal broad-stitch ; scallop- 
ing. Material : a small piece of embroidery cloth, only with letters and 
simple scallops. Two weeks are devoted to embroidery. 

Under all circumstances it is distinctly kept in mind that sewing, em- 
broidery, and darning, in brief, the technique of these activities, is not the 
main purpose of the work, but that the children shall learn independently 
to make useful articles and in so doing acquire the technique of sewing. 

The number of hours given over to sewing varies somewhat. 
From the third school year on, never less than two hours are 
given weekly, and the number of hours may be, and frequently 
is, as high as four. Sewing is begun in the second school year 
sometimes, but the practice is not general. 

The size of classes varies greatly. The ordinary class is 
between forty-five and fifty-five. This number is plainly too 
Size of large for one teacher to handle at one time. In order 

Classes ^q meet this situation, the classes are usually divided 
or there are two teachers assigned to each class. In actual 
practice then one teacher ordinarily has to look after from 
twenty- two to twenty-seven children. This number is fre- 
quently much smaller. 



SEWING 



491 



There are two classes of teachers who give instruction in sew- 
ing, those who are regular teachers of sewing and who do noth- 
ing else, and those who teach sewing in addition to or 

Tfiflch firs 

as a part of other regular classroom teaching. The 
latter class is by far the more numerous. There are special 
normal schools for the training of teachers of sewing and cook- 
ing, and there are also courses offered in normal schools 
which prepare teachers for these branches in the Volksschulen. 
Girls who have finished a girls' higher school or a middle school 
may be admitted to the courses to prepare for teaching 
cooking and sewing. Regular teachers in girls' schools will 
also be admitted to such courses. The curriculum which these 
future teachers of domestic arts pursue includes ^ practical work 
in sewing, in which they must make all the articles which are 
required in the courses of study for girls' schools : machine 
sewing, cutting and fitting ; a course in textiles ; drawing, free- 
hand and mechanical; pedagogy, including history of educa- 
tion, principles of education, psychology, and methods, special 
methods in teaching sewing with practice teaching ; physiology 
and the hygiene of sewing ; German and civil government, arith- 
metic, singing, and gymnasium. Taking such a course does not 
excuse one from an examination, which is required of all who 
wish to teach cooking and sewing. This examination, which 
consists of practical and written tests, covers the work given in 
the outline above. 

Class instruction is used almost entirely in sewing. There is 
very Httle individual instruction, and in fact, it is not desired by 
the teachers, unless in exceptional cases. There are not class in- 
special sewing rooms as a rule, the regular classroom stmction 
being used for the purpose. In some of the larger and newer 
schools where sewing machines are installed, there are special 
rooms for all manual activities. The greater part of the work 

^ Zentralhlatt, 1907, pp. 778-780. 



492 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

in sewing is done by hand, for in actual life the German home 
which sends its children to the Volksschule seldom owns a ma- 
chine, and hence it would be useless for the girls to learn to use 
machines in school. 

One would think that sewing would give the children an 
opportunity for a little initiative and expression of individuality, 
Method of t)ut such is not the case frequently. The typical 
Instruction method of instruction is as follows : First of all, the 
teacher shows the children the aim of the lesson by showing 
them the finished article which the class is going to make. The 
beginning is made from the whole garment or article, and it is 
analyzed into its component parts. What the children have 
already learned is used in acquiring the mastery of the new steps 
which the new problem sets for them. The teacher shows how 
the work is to be begun and the compound activities are dis- 
sected into their simplest operations. The teacher shows the 
children what she wants done by doing it before them first. 
Then she questions them as to what they have seen and requires 
them to give reasons for doing the work one way rather than 
another. Frequently the teacher illustrates what she wants 
done by means of drawings or diagrams on the board. After the 
teacher has finished, some of the girls are required to give an 
explanation of the whole operation. They make drawings, too, 
if they are able to do so. 

Then comes the actual work, and its doubtful value will be 
immediately apparent. Practically all new manual movements 
or activities, such as learning a new stitch, are taught as drills, 
the teacher first calling the new movements, "In, out, around, 
in, out, around," and later by counting or tapping on the desk. 
This is kept up until all the children have learned the process. 
This t3rpe of work is continued throughout the entire six years of 
sewing, but not to the same extent in the upper grades as in the 
lower. To use the words of a German teacher, ''In this way 



SEWING 



493 



equal progress for all is made possible/^ Whatever may be said 
for or against rhythmic manual activities, the whole method is 
typically German. It makes all of the children learn the process, 
it enables them all to do the work reasonably well, it makes 
them all get through about the same time, it saves the teacher, 
and it makes the children all alike, which is very desirable in the 
German scheme of things. After any activity has been suffi- 
ciently well learned as a group, the children are allowed to go 
ahead of their own accord. Naturally, in spite of the methods 
employed, some children can work faster than others. When- 
ever a girl finishes the class assignment and has some time left, 
she is given extra work and is sometimes allowed to choose some 
particular project for herself, with the teacher's approval. At 
Christmas the children are allowed to work on gifts for their 
famihes or for the poor. 

Correction of work is carried out as a class rather than indi- 
vidually, for similar errors are generally made by several in the 
class. At a given time the teacher calls on the class correction 
for suggestions as to the method of correcting the mis- °^ ^^^^ 
takes. First, a child will give the correct way in which the 
work should be done, and then this way is compared with the 
incorrect way and the errors are pointed out. If at last one or 
two children have not succeeded in doing the work correctly, 
the teacher will give them some individual attention. 

Discipline in sewing rooms is always a rather difficult ques- 
tion. As a rule the children are permitted to talk to their 
neighbors, but are never allowed to leave their seats 

. . , Discipline 

Without permission. Some teachers told us that the 
rhythmic method in teaching was a very great help in the mat- 
ter of discipline. It takes no explanation to see how that would 
be so. When a child needs help from the teacher, she merely 
lays her work on her desk, folds her hands, and waits until it is 
her turn to go to the teacher's desk. When the time comes for 



494 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the approval of the children's work, the teacher passes from 
desk to desk and inspects the character of the finished product. 
This is done to save time and confusion. 

The discipUne in the sewing classes that we observed was by 
far the poorest of all that we saw in the German schools. Prin- 
cipals of schools attributed this to the youth of some of the 
teachers, to the character of the work, and to the fact that many 
of the sewing teachers are special teachers or substitutes. One 
principal said to me, *'0h, you can't expect much in a discipli- 
nary way from women." 

The children always buy their own materials, such as needles, 

thread, and cloth. If a child is too poor to buy her own ma- 

terials, they are supplied her by the community. This 

iVLfl,iGrid-iS 

and Equip- situation ariscs rarely. The parents never make objec- 
^^^ tion to the purchase of sewing materials because the 

things the girls make are always useful articles and no loss 
whatever is involved. As can be noted from the course of 
study given above, the amount of material and the number of 
articles made are very conservative. 

In some schools one finds quite a lot of illustrative teach- 
ing material in the way of darning, patching, knitting, and 
weaving charts, and model sets of the articles commonly made 
in the Volksschule. The use of the charts seems to be quite 
general and with rather good results. A darning chart is gener- 
ally mounted on a standard so that it can be seen from all parts 
of the room. The material is heavy white woolen yarn and a 
hole has been left in the goods. The darning cotton or wool is 
black so that the children can see how the stitches are taken. 
The other charts are made somewhat on the same plan. Sewing 
machines are not very common and are used only in the last 
grade of the school. The Singer and Diirrkopp machines are 
the makes in commonest use. 

There are two outstanding features of sewing instruction 



SEWING 495 

which deserve attention. The first thing which recommends 
itself is the extreme practical nature of the work done by the girls 
in their sewing courses. Knitting, darning, patching, 
making of stockings, shirts, shirtwaists, aprons, and 
the like form the substance of the course. In our own country 
too much of the time in sewing is given over to making fancy 
work and such articles, so that the majority of parents put the 
whole affair down as a fad and never consider it as a serious 
subject worthy of time and thought. As a matter of fact, chil- 
dren take more actual delight in making something that can be 
used by them than they do in making miniature garments and 
make-beheve clothes. It may seem strange to Americans why 
so much knitting and darning is put in the course in German 
Volksschulen. That is accounted for by the fact that three 
fourths of the population of the country wear knitted woolen 
stockings in the winter time. Darning and mending are integral 
parts of the great German virtue — economy. Every German 
Hausfrau takes her needlework with her on every occasion, so 
that no precious moments go to waste. 

The other point that comes to our attention is the drill or 
rhythmic method employed in teaching sewing. All the chil- 
dren are kept together. *'One," — the needle goes in; *'two," 
— the needle goes through; ^' three," — the needle is out. 
Regular progress is the watchword. Every child shall do every- 
thing in the same way. It raises a pedagogical question which 
we cannot decide. This much we know, it is one of the processes 
in which we can most clearly see how all Germans are raade to 
think and act alike. We cannot condemn the method because 
it does what is most desirable from the German viewpoint. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
COOKING 

Cooking is by no means general in the German Volksschulen. 
It is taught in practically none of the rural schools and in very 
Prevalence f^w of the schools in the smaller towns or cities, 
in Schools Cooking has been reserved, until very recently, for the 
mother to teach at home. Of late years in the large cities where 
the mothers were not able to teach cooking for economic reasons 
it has become customary to establish school kitchens, each of 
which could serve several schools. In ^ all Prussia there are 
(1913) 38,684 schools, and of this number 1779 have special 
equipment for teaching cooking and general housework. Of 
the 33,559 schools in the country only 404 are provided with 
instruction in cooking, while of the 5125 city schools 1375 are 
equipped for cooking. Seven hundred seventy-five of the 
city schools equipped for cooking are found in the 1747 schools 
of Prussia's thirty-three largest cities. It can readily be seen 
that there is still room for wide development along this line. 

We give below the complete course of study in cooking for a 
Course of ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ hundred thousand population. It in- 
study eludes both technical and practical work. 

Let it be remembered that this course is for girls from homes 

whose incomes seldom exceed five or six hundred dollars a year. 

The above course may not include many dishes 

which sound very appetizing, especially in some of 

their combinations, but they are the things the common people 

live on. American household economists can do well if they 

* Schulstaiislische Blatter, January, 19 13. 
496 



COOKING 



497 



learn this one lesson in making courses of study: to teach the 
girls to prepare the dishes which they will sometime need to 
know how to prepare. One observes very few fancy dishes in 
this course of study; one sees no charlotte russe, one sees no 
lady fingers, one finds no macaroons. 



No. 


Theory 


Practice 


Special Work 


I. 


Introduction, 


Milk soup. 




2. 


The stove and fire- 


Potato soup and meat 






making. 


balls. 




3- 


Food elements. 


Chopped meat with 
herring sauce and po- 
tatoes. 




4- 


Meat. 


Roast pork and boiled 
potatoes. 


Scouring wooden-ware. 


5- 


Eggs. 


Pancakes and rhubarb. 


Packing of eggs. 


6. 


Milk. 


Creamed potatoes and 
liver. 




7- 


Laundry I. Soak- 
ing, washing, drying. 


Meat soup. 


Washing the tea towels. 


8. 


Laundry II. Lay- 
ing, rolling, ironing. 


Rice with raisins. 


Kitchen laundry. 


9- 


Fruit. 


Fruit soup with bran 
dumpling. 




lO. 


Review: Egg. 


Spinach, boiled eggs, 
boiled potatoes. 


Cleaning brooms. 


II. 


Vegetables I. 


Turnips and potatoes with 
pork. 




12. 


Potatoes. 


Potatoes, parsley, and 


Scouring of pans and 






sausage. 


kettles. 


13- 


Beverages. 


Oat-cocoa. 


Cleaning of spice-boxes. 


14. 


Preserving fruit. 


Pudding and fruit. 


Preserving pickles. 


15- 


Vegetables II. 


Cabbage with mutton and 
potatoes. 


Preserving of beans. 


16. 


Milk. Review. 


Bran gruel and fruit 
sauce. 


Cleaning of pantry. 


17- 


Grains I. 


Corn-meal cakes and apple 
sauce. 




18. 


Grains II. 


Hulled barley and plums. 


Cleaning of cellar. 


19. 


Review : Laundry. 


Green beans with bacon 
and onions and potatoes. 


Kitchen laundry. 


20. 


Review: Meat. 


Goulash and mashed po- 
tatoes. 





2 K 



498 



PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



No. 


Theory 


Practice 


Speclal Work 


21. 


The oven. 


Apple and rice pudding. 


Ironing. 


22. 


Leguminous plants. 


Lentil soup and sausage. 


Cleaning of granite-ware. 


23- 


Brewing. 


Meat soup. 


Preserving of fruit. 


24. 


Fish. 


Smothered perch, mus- 
tard sauce, potatoes. 




25- 


Bread-baking. 


Bread, bread soup. 




26. 


Food for invalids. 


Oatmeal, Irish stew. 


Scouring pans. 


27. 


Butter and cheese. 


Peas-porridge soup with 


Cleaning of brooms and 






bread-crumbs. 


brushes. 


28. 


Review: Potatoes. 


Baked potatoes, fruit. 




29. 


Beets, radishes, tur- 


Fricasseed fish, potato 


Scouring of the floor. 




nips. 


salad. 




30. 


Baking. 


Christmas cakes, malt, 
coffee. 




31. 


Water. 


Bran soup, sour potatoes, 
smothered veal. 




32. 


Clothing and Cleans- 


Potatoes with herring. 


Scouring of tables. 


33. 


ing. 
Review : Vegetables. 


French turnips with beef 
and potatoes. 


Cleaning the stove. 


34- 


The calf ; inner parts. 


Lung soup and boiled 


Scouring and scrubbing the 






potatoes. 


kitchen. 


35- 


Sugar. 


Bread dumplings and 
baked fruit. 




36. 


Review: Fish. 


Baked herring and po- 
tato soup. 




37. 


The fats. 


Beefsteak and potato 
salad. 


Cleaning of cupboards. 


38. 


Review: Fruit. 


Potato balls, fruit. 




39. 


Bookkeeping. 


Fish cutlets, rice soup. 


Cleaning of cellar. 


40. 


Cleaning of kitchen. 


Roast pork, macaroni. 


Thorough cleaning of 
kitchen. 



The first glance at the course shows several things. First of 
all, cleanliness stands forth prominently as a feature of the work. 
Scour, clean, scrub are the watchwords. Second in prominence, 
the word potato, Germany's chief means of sustenance as far 
as the lower classes are concerned. The potato culture was in- 
troduced into Germany by Frederick the Great at the same 
time that he introduced the sugar beet. This one deed alone 



COOKING 499 

was sufficient to make him a great ruler. One often stops to 
wonder what the German masses would eat if they did not have 
potatoes. As a matter of fact, the cooking of potatoes and 
vegetables of all sorts is given much more attention in the 
Volksschulen than the cooking of meats because the poorer 
classes have meat rather rarely. 

In some schools the course in cooking is two years, while in 
others it is only one year. Ordinarily three hours a week are 
devoted to it, but in quite a number of places only two Length of 
hours a week are used. However, the hours are ^^^^e 
always run together so that the girls will have a period of suffi- 
cient length in which to do acceptable work. The afternoon is 
frequently chosen as the time, since it in no way interferes with 
the regular school program. 

The normal number in a class in cooking is twenty-four. 
Sometimes the number is smaller than this, but we size of 
have never seen a larger class. This number is usually c^^^ses 
about the number of girls that one would find in a regular eighth 
grade. 

The kitchens are always large and fully, though not expensively, 
equipped. There are generally six stoves, three gas stoves and 
three coal stoves, in each kitchen. Coal is used very Equipment 
extensively in Germany for cooking. Each stove ordi- °* Kitchens 
narily has four burners or Hds. There are six flat-topped tables, 
one for each group of girls, since the class is divided into 
six groups of four. There are four stools at each table. This 
equipment occupies the middle of the room. The teacher's 
desk is at one end of the room, while the sinks and wash basins 
are at the other, as are also the general stores and supplies. 
Against the wall on the sides of the room near the stoves are 
cabinets, one for each group of girls. 

The equipment in each cabinet was as follows : i salt box, 
I meal box, 2 large graters, i lemon squeezer, 2 small graters, 



500 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

1 salt shaker, i pepper shaker, i large bread board, i small 
bread board, i meat hacker, i oil cloth, i pudding mold, i granite 

serving dish, 6 dinner plates, 6 soup plates, 6 salad 

CsDinets , , , 

plates, I water pitcher, i meat plate, i milk pitcher, 

2 bowls, I pancake platter, 2 glasses, i gravy dish, i soup tureen, 
6 cups and saucers, 6 granite-ware plates, 4 granite-ware cups, 

1 liter measure, 6 knives, 6 forks, 6 teaspoons, 6 soup spoons, 
4 kitchen knives, i water boiler, i potato boiler, 4 baking dishes, 

2 stew pans, 2 skillets, 2 bakers, 2 large collanders, i soup strainer, 
I coifee strainer, i coffee pot, 2 iron spoons, 4 wooden spoons, 
I box of metal polish, polishing boards, towels. 

The theory and practice in cooking are very closely related. 

Ordinarily the theoretical part of the work immediately precedes 

the practical work. The first part of the cooking 

Theory ,, ,, , ... 

period is devoted to discussions and instructions, while 
the rest of the time is taken up with cooking itself. A great deal 
of time is saved for actual practice by taking advantage of all 
possible correlations existing between cooking and the other 
subjects in the course. For example, the food elements, the 
vegetables, fruit, meat, grains, fish, are all studied in botany 
and zoology. Water, sugar, fire, coal, gas, baking are all treated 
rather fully in physics and chemistry. These topics barely re- 
quire more than a short review in the cooking period. At the 
same time, because these topics are used in the cooking class, a 
motive is furnished for learning or studying them in the science 
classes. Such theoretical work as is given is very simple and 
direct. The children are not required to learn any chemical 
formulas or to calculate the number of calories or heat units in 
this or that particular article of food. There is a good deal of 
discussion about how to keep food clean, desirable combinations 
of food, economy in buying, keeping of household accounts, and 
topics of this kind. 
Very definite instructions always precede the practical work. 



COOKING SOI 

Reasons for doing the work one way rather than another are 
always given. The teacher gives the instructions slowly, an- 
swers questions now and then, while the girls write in Practical 
their notebooks. Frequently the teacher gives only ^°^^ 
the first part of the directions, and after that has been done, or, 
if possible, while it is being done, gives the rest of the instructions. 

The girls work together in groups, as a rule, for very few 
kitchens have individual equipment. The Germans believe that 
it is almost as valuable to work in groups as it is to work in- 
dividually, that it frequently prevents errors in carrying out 
instructions, and that it saves time. The one fact that is es- 
tablished is that it saves a very great deal of money. 

The girls seem to enjoy this kind of work more than any 
other which they are called upon to do. Outside of the sewing 
and gymnasium classes it is the only opportunity that 
they have to express themselves and show any indi- 
viduality whatever. They are more at their ease and really 
seem to have a good time. As far as the educative value of 
the subject is concerned, it is preeminently ahead of almost 
all other subjects. First, it give-^i the child a type of knowledge 
which is immediately useful because most of the girls help in 
such work at home. Secondly, the problems they are called 
upon to solve in planning a meal at school, or some other similar 
project, require a longer thought process, a process with more 
steps in it, than any other subject, not excluding even arith- 
metic and physics. 

Outside of the actual cooking the girls receive a great deal 
of instruction and some practice in general housework, which 
consists mostly of learning how to keep everything Housekeep- 
around the house clean, particularly the cooking »»gWork 
utensils. The girls also learn how to wash, dry, and iron clothes. 
Several teachers told me that they considered the part of the 
work which had to do with cleaning more important than the 



502 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

actual cooking. No girl leaves the Volksschule where house- 
keeping is taught who does not know what water, soap, and scour- 
ing brushes can do for dirt, and she has learned it through ex- 
perience. Cleanliness is one of the German's greatest virtues. 

Another feature of the cooking instruction is that the girls 
are always required to prepare meals rather than individual 
dishes. They are required to prepare food in quantities large 
enough for the average family in the average length of time, 
and to have it all ready at once. In our American schools the 
girls are taught too often to prepare one thing without any regard 
to any other element involved in feeding a hungry family punc- 
tually and sufhciently. 

Another lesson which the teachers strive to teach is that 
of economy. The girls in their cooking classes take the actual 
incomes of their own homes and cook accordingly. The 
incomes of German homes of the lower class are small and the 
problem confronting the housewife is how to prepare a meal for 
four for about thirty cents. This is the problem the children 
in the schools have to solve. To do this the girls are required to 
plan meals, to do the buying, and all the rest. They take a 
family of a certain size, they take a normal income, and divide 
it up among the different things for which money must be spent, 
such as food, rent, clothing, savings, and the hke. Their expenses 
for food must be within the limits of the apportionment for 
that item. This is excellent practice for the girls in buying, 
planning, and in bookkeeping. It is the only way of teaching 
economy, if it can be done. Economy is another great virtue of 
German character. 

Cooking. Class I. Girls, Age 13-14. Steglitz. Berlin 

After the girls had put on water to boil the teacher gave them the direc- 
tions. 

Teacher: To-day we are going to cook shell-fish, with mustard dressing 
and boiled potatoes. What are we going to do ? 



COOKING 503 

Pupil: We are going to cook shell-fish, with mustard dressing and boiled 

potatoes. 
Teacher : Where do we get this fish ? 
Pupil: We get shell-fish from the North Sea. 
Teacher: There are salt-water fish and fresh-water fish. The shell-fish 

is a salt-water fish. Describe this fish. 
Pupil: The fish is medium in size; it has black stripes on both sides of 

the back and it has a large head. 
Teacher: Do you see anything special, any distinguishing sign? 
Pupil: Yes, there are black spots on both sides. 
Teacher: How can you tell a shell-fish? 
Pupil: A shell-fish always has those black spots on the sides. 
Teacher: A good fish, one that is not spoiled, must have red, shiny gills. 

The eyes must be good. It must smell fresh. The flesh must be elastic, 

so that when I press my finger into the fish the mark will soon disappear. 

Repeat that. 
Pupil: A good fish must have red, shiny gills, a good odor, and the flesh 

must be elastic. 
Teacher: Repeat that again. 
Pupil: A good fish must have red, shiny gills, a good odor, and the flesh 

must be elastic. 
Teacher: Repeat that again together. 
Pupils: A good fish must have red, shiny gills, a good odor, and the flesh 

must be elastic. 
Teacher: What does sea-fish cost ? 
Pupil: Sea-fish costs from 40 to 50 Pfennige a pound. 
Teacher: Meat costs more than fish. One fourth of a pound of meat is 

required for each person, while one half a pound of fish is required for 

each person. One fourth of a pound of meat costs 35 to 40 Pfennige, 

while a half pound of fish costs but 20 to 25 Pfennige. Which is the 

cheaper ? 
Pupil: Fish is the cheaper. 
Teacher: Both fish and veal are very digestible. There is albumen in fish. 

It is easily digested and very nutritive. What can we say of fish ? 
Pupil: Fish contains albumen. Fish is very easily digested and is very 

nutritive. 
Teacher: What are the advantages of fish as a food? 
Pupil: Fish is cheap, digestible, and nutritive. 
Teacher: How are fish brought to Berlin ? 



504 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Pupil: They are brought here in refrigerator cars, which are lined with 
wood and tin. 

Teacher: From where do we get fish ? 

Pupil: We get fish from Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven. 

Teacher: We shall now scale the fish. Where do we begin to scale the 
fish? 

Pupil: We should begin at the tail and on the sides with a short, sharp 
knife. 

Teacher: Next we remove the gills and cut off the head. (Teacher pro- 
ceeds with the work, the children do not do their work until later.) 
There are four very important things to learn in cooking fish. They 
all begin with the letter ''s" (in German). They are clean {sduhern)^ 
salt {salzen), sour with vinegar {sduren), let stand {stehen lassen). 
What are the four things to learn ? 

Pupil: Clean, salt, sour, and let stand. 

Teacher: After that is done we cook the fish. If we cook the whole fish 
we must begin with tepid or warm water, so the outside will not cook too 
soon and fall apart. If we cut the fish up we may use boiling water at 
once. How do you know when the fish is done ? 

Pupil: The meat gets white and the bones come out easily. 

Teacher: Now let's calculate the cost of the meal. 
The following table was put on the board: 

f lb. fish 75 Mark 

Salt, pepper, vinegar oi Mark 

50 gr. butter 08 Mark 

75 gr. meal _^ Mark 

.87 Mark 
Seasoning for sauce poured over fish ... .03 Mark 
I kg. potatoes ^ Mark 

.96 Mark — Total 

Teacher: After the head has been cut off, remove the entrails and wash 
thoroughly. Then put the fish in a liter of cold water and cook after 
you have cut it up. Add to it some salt, pepper, and vinegar. When 
it is done let it stand for a couple of hours. Half an hour before meal- 
time make the mustard dressing with cold water, fish broth, meal, 
mustard, and onions and cook for 15 minutes. Finally take some of 
the fish, cook in boiling water for two or three minutes and then serve 
with the mustard sauce. You know how to boil potatoes. 



COOKING 505 

The girls carried out the instructions without any failures 
and served a very nice little meal, to which we were invited. 
After the meal was over, great care and attention were given to 
cleaning the dishes and replacing them. We do not vouch for 
the accuracy of the above recipe, for in taking notes on this 
lesson we were somewhat lost as to the technical terms used. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
SINGING 

Two hours each week are given over to singing in all classes 
of the Volksschulen except in the first two years, where it receives 
only one hour a week, or two half-hour periods in connection 
with games and plays in physical training. 

The course of study in music in the Berlin schools is given in 
this chapter and it indicates the number and names of the songs, 
as well as the amount of musical theory which is required. There 
is really very little emphasis laid upon the technical side of 
music. By far the greater part of the time is given to learning 
songs and singing them. 

Each German teacher must be able to sing. There are only 
a few who cannot play the violin with more or less ability, for 
this instrument is ordinarily used for the accompani- 
ment. Many of the rural teachers can play the 
organ, since they are not only the school-teachers but also the 
church organists. The organ is used in some schools ; the piano 
is rarely found in the Volksschulen. In the larger cities many 
schools have special teachers for music, as is the custom in Amer- 
ica. In such cases the regular class teachers have no music 
whatever to teach. It goes without saying that the better 
results are obtained under special teachers. Special teachers 
have to take a definite course in preparation at the normal 
schools and are required to pass an examination before being 
certified as music teachers. 

Our criticism of the music teaching will not concern itself 
much with the method, but restrict itself to the rather obvious 

506 



SINGING 507 

educative influence exerted by the subject. There are two 
obvious effects of the music instruction — to the children it 
means recreation and enjoyment, and increase in patriotic and 
religious fervor. Every child must sing whether he has a good 
voice or not. In the end every child wants to sing and with all 
the fervor of his soul. At least they want to sing for visitors. 
The teachers invariably allow the children to choose some of the 
songs. We personally had heard DeutscMand, Deutschland 
iiber alles eighty-five times in different classes before we stopped 
counting. Music, which means singing in the Volksschule, is a 
very valuable support to the work in history and religion as 
they affect the child's patriotic ardor. 

The songs are always committed to memory thoroughly before 
the singing is begun. The religious songs are learned in the 
religion hour, and frequently some of the secular songs are 
learned as literature in the German or in the history period. 
These four subjects are very closely correlated as far as the con- 
tent of the songs is concerned. In order to secure the proper 
expression the meaning of each song is clear before it is sung. 
The class then recites the words of the song in unison. The 
teacher sings the song first, a stanza at a time, and then the class 
sings it with him, over and over until it is learned. 

I had visited a girls' school in Bredow (Pomerania) for several 
days and had made friends with a number of the children. They 
were accustomed to invite visitors to hear classes which they 
enjoyed especially, and on my last day there, the girls in the 
upper classes asked me to come to hear them sing. This school 
had a regular music teacher, who was full of fire and vim. There 
were in all about eighty girls in the combined classes. The 
teacher talked for a short time about a new scale they had been 
studying and when that was through he began with the songs. 
He said he always allowed the girls to choose all their songs — 
any that they had learned. The girls were as happy as could be, 



5o8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

and sang to their hearts' content. Not getting enough response, 
the teacher mounted his table, the vioUn in one hand and the 
bow in the other, and I have never seen so much enthusiasm in 
any class in my life. After they had sung several songs, one 
little girl put up her hand and asked, ''May I sing a song for the 
gentleman?" On receiving permission, she gave as beautiful 
a rendition of Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht as I ever have heard. 

We cite this instance only to illustrate what happened in 
almost every school. One began to feel the latent enthusiasm 
and patriotic and religious fervor of the Germans, more strong 
in the girls even than in the boys. 

The important lesson to be learned from the music of the 
Volksschulen is the influence singing may have upon the char- 
acter and patriotism of the children. We can welcome the day 
when it will be impossible for a teacher who cannot lead the chil- 
dren in singing to secure a position in our elementary grades. 

SINGING 

» 

Class 8: i Hour 

First attempts to sing, awakening of the musical and rhythmical feeling. 

In connection with the object lessons, folk-songs and game-songs which 
have been used as language exercises are to be sung, being first spoken 
by the teacher, then by the pupils; then they are recited in musical 
rhythm, finally sung or played by the teacher and then sung by the pupils. 

Also in a like manner, church songs and their melodies, together with 
drill in position of the body and the mouth. 

CHURCH SONGS 

Ach, UeiV mit deiner Gnade. 

FOLK-SONGS 

Kuckuck. 

Schlaf, mein Kind. 

Fuchs, du hast die Gans gestohlen. 

Morgen, Kinder, wird^s was gehen. 



SINGING 509 

Class 7: i Hour 

Singing from music without key or signature. 
Text : Numerical notation and suitable syllables. 

1. Pointing out and naming of the lines and spaces by the children. 

2. Singing the scale up and down. 

The fundamental tone is to be written on the first line below the staff 
and to be intoned in a moderate, suitable pitch. 

3. Quarter notes and quarter rest. | time, beating time, bar, double- 
bar, f time, half note, and half rest. Whole note and whole rest, 
f time, rest, and repeat. 

4. Singing of small groups of notes, in sequence up and down, which 
always return to the fundamental tone. 

5. Accented syllables. Loud and soft. 

6. Repetition of the work of Class 8. 

CHURCH SONGS 

Mir nach, spricht Christus. 
Vom Himmel hoch. 

FOLK-SONGS 

Der Mond ist aufgegangen (st. i, 2). 

Alle Jahre wieder. 

Die Abendglocke schallet. 

Vogel sin gen (st. i, 2, 4) (f time). 

Class 6: 2 Hours 

Familiarization with the major key. 
Extension of range down to A and up to F. 

1. The key of G, C-major scale. Naming and singing of particular 
sequences by the German name, c, d, e, etc. Position of the half steps 
from 3 to 4 and from 7 to 8. 

2. Triad on the first interval with reversions. Major thirds and 
minor thirds. 

3. Eighth notes and eighth rest. Dotted half note, f time. 

4. Regulation of breathing. Inhalation. Holding of the breath. 
Exhaling. 



510 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

CHURCH SONGS 

LoU Gotty ihr Christen. 
► Wach, auf, mem Herz. 

Jesu, geh' voran. 

FOLK-SONGS 

O wie es ist kalt geworden (f time). 

Ihr Kinderlein, kommet (st. 2, Da liegt es, ach Kinder; st. 3, So nimm). 

Alles neu macht der Mai (st. i). 

Wer hat die schonsten Schdfchen. 



Class 5 : 2 Hours 

Extension of the range down to lower A and up to G. 

1. Formation of G-major scale. Sharp jf. 

Removal of the sharp by a natural. The triad and the first and fifth 
intervals. 

2. Sharping of F to FH. Distinguishing the half tone Fjf-G from 
the whole tone F-G, the half tone E-F from the whole tone E-Fjf, up 
and down. 

3. Dotted quarter notes. | time, f time. 

4. Slur. 

Beginning of two-part singing. 

CHURCH SONGS 

Nun ruhen alle Walder. 
Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier. 
Lobe den Herren. 
Gott des Himmels und der Erden. 
FreiC dich sehr. 

FOLK-SONGS 

Heil dir im Siegerkranz. 

Ich hatt' einen Kameraden (two parts). 

dufrohliche (two parts). 

Komm, lieber Mai. • 
Jung Siegfried. 



SINGING 511 

Class 4: 2 Hours 

Range from lower G to upper G. 

1. Formation of F-major scale. Flat t?. 

Removal of the flat by a natural. Distinguishing A-Bt? from A-B, 
B-C from Bt7-C, up and down. 

2. Combination into cadences of the first, fourth, and fifth triads of 
C, G, and F-major. 

3. Sixteenth note and sixteenth rest. Dotted eighth. 

4. Practice in crescendo and decrescendo. 

• CHURCH SONGS 

Nun danket alle GoU. 

Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend '. 

Mein erst Gefiihl. 

Wie soil ich dich empfangen. 

O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden. 

FOLK-SONGS 

Deutschland, Deutschland iiher alles (unison.) 

Ich habe mich ergehen (two parts). 

So nimm denn (two parts). 

Nachtigall, Nachtigall (two parts). 

Wo jrag^ ich viel nach Geld und Gut (two parts). 

Class 3 : 2 Hours 

1. (a) D-majorscale-C. Removal of C# by a natural. Distinguish- 
ing C«-D from C-D. 

(&) B-major scale. E flat. Removal of the flat by a natural. 
Distinguishing the whole and half tones as in i, a. 

2. Chief triads of D-major and B-major with their reversions. Form- 
ing of cadences in B-major and D-major. 

3. Use of t and {? before other fundamental tones (marks of trans- 
position). 

4. Practice of fourths and fifths. 
Beginning of three-part singing. 



512 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

CHURCH SONGS 

heiliger Geist. 
, dass ich tausend Zungen hdtte. 

Dir, dir, Jehova, will ich singen. 
Wachet auf, rujt uns die Stimme. 
Jesus, meine Zuversicht. 
Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott. 

FOLK-SONGS 

Ich Weiss nicht, was soil es bedeuten (two parts). 

Es braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall (one part). 

Das Wandern ist (two parts). 

Der Mai ist gekommen (three parts). 

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (three parts). 

Nun ode du mein lieV Heimatland (three parts). 

Class 2 : 2 Hours 

1. A-major and Et^-major scales. Application of Gj or Gt^, as in 
Class 3. Cadences in A-major and Et?-major. Formation of triads 
on every interval of the major scale. 

2. Major and minor sixths. 

3. Development of the minor scale from the major scale by making 
the sixth the fundamental. 

CHURCH SONGS 

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (Melody : Eerr wie du). 

Eins ist Not. 

Allein Gott in der Hoh'sei Ehr\ 

Wie gross ist des Allmacht'gen Giite. 

Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan. 

Wer nur den lieben Gott Idsst waken. 

Liturgical song (unison). 

FOLK-SONGS 

Folk-songs chosen by the teacher, popular songs, and some classical 
songs of three or four parts. 



SINGING 513 

Class i : 2 Hours 

CHURCH SONGS 
Lamm Gottes. 

Sei Lob und Ehr^ (Melody : Es ist das Heil uns kommen her). 
Herz und Herz vereint zusammen (Melody : du Liebe meiner Liebe). 
SolW ich meinem Goit nicht singen. 

These songs are for the schools in which Class i and Class 2 are not 
united in singing instruction. 



2L 



CHAPTER XXV 
DRAWING 

Drawing was made a regular subject of instruction in the 
Prussian schools by the General Regulations of 1872, although 
its great value in the education of the child had been recognized 
by Pestalozzi many years before. There had been a great deal 
of drawing taught in all the dilBferent types of schools before 
this time. There always has been a very great divergence of 
opinion among German teachers of drawing as to the content 
and method of the subject. Suffice it to say here that drawing 
in the elementary school until recent years had been mere copying 
from a pattern or had been geometrical and mechanical to a 
large degree. The purpose of the subject was chiefly the formal 
discipline and the practical value that could be derived. Sense 
of color and perspective were totally lacking. Real drawing 
ability was neglected. Geometrical exactness was demanded. 

The new regulations ^ concerning the course and method in 
drawing are given because they best explain what the Volksschule 
is now attempting in this field. 

I. Free-hand Drawing. General Aim. Drawing is to enable 
the pupils to observe nature and the objects of their environ- 
ment in regard to form and color and to reproduce clearly and 
simply that which has been seen. 

Lower Section : 

Drawing from Memory. 
Middle and Upper Sections : 

Drawing from the Object. 

* Min. Erl. vom 12. Juni, 1902. 
5 14 



DRAWING 515 

A. Lower Section. First three years of school. In the first 
school year special hours for drawing are not set aside. Draw- 
ing is given in connection with instruction in German. Work : 
Simple objects from the sphere of the child's observation are 
drawn from memory. 

Examples : Plum, chain, spectacles, egg, spoon, ovate leaf, 
hoop, wheel, watch-dial, picture frame, copy-book, envelope, 
window, door, paper hat, kite, gable, sign-board or door-plate, 
saw, ax, knife, horseshoe, pKers, shears, leaves of various shapes, 
etc. 

Drawing is done with charcoal, chalk, and colored crayons 
on wrapping-paper which is fixed by clamps on adjustable 
drawing-boards, which are made of pasteboard. Some of the 
pupils draw on the blackboard. There is no individual instruc- 
tion. The class works as a group. 

The purpose of drawing exercises in the lower section is to 
prepare the way for training the eye and the hand. The finished 
drawing is to show whether the child has grasped the essentials 
of the form of the object presented. The sketching of definite 
models is not yet a part of the instruction. All drawings are 
to be done free-hand. Artificial or guide lines are not to be 
used in drawing simple objects. The pupils are urged to execute 
the lines with one stroke and to let the incorrect lines stand 
until the correct line is secured by a repetition of the exercise. 
Patterns of any kind are forbidden. 

In the treatment of the subject matter given above the fol- 
lowing method is to be followed : 

The teacher will have the object drawn by the children from 
memory in order to ascertain what conception the children have 
of the object. Together with the children the teacher establishes 
the chief characteristics of the object. Then the object is drawn 
on the board by several children. Finally all the children 
draw the object on paper from memory. 



5i6 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

B. Middle Section. Fourth and fifth years. Work: The 
instruction goes over from drawing from memory to drawing 
from objects. Flat objects, especially those taken from nature, 
are used as models. Exercises with the same object are taken 
in finding color and in the free reproduction with the brush 
without sketch lines. Under favorable circumstances drawing 
from simple articles of the household may be begun. Drawing 
from memory is continued, even after work in drawing from 
real objects is taken up. 

Examples for fourth school year — Class 5 : Leaves, butterflies, 
and dragon-flies of simple form, as : Plantain, lily-of-the-valley, 
sumac, copper-beech, lilac, arrowhead, corn-bind, hazelwort, pig- 
weed, ground-wig, common oak, elm, Hverwort, passion-flower, 
ivy, hedge butterfly, the red admiral, and dragon-fly. 

Examples for fifth school year — Class 4: Difficult leaves, 
butterflies, Hbellae, fish, birds' feathers and wings, as : Ailan- 
thus, chestnut, maple, sarsaparilla, Virginia creeper, grape, 
hellebore, sycamore, buttercup, corn poppy, geranium, Spanish 
carnation, peacock butterfly, swallow-tail butterfly, bedstraw 
moth, death's-head moth, hawk moth, perch, carp, pike, etc. 

In addition to the drawing material of the lower section, 
there are added the soft pencil, white and toned paper, and, as 
far as possible, brush and water colors. The instruction is 
individual, group, or class instruction as the need may be. 

The goal to be kept in mind for drawing in middle section is 
that the child learn to make independent observation from 
nature, to reproduce faithfully in the drawing that which has 
been observed, and to retain a clear concept in his mind of that 
which has been drawn. Jn drawing from nature the chief thing 
is that the model be correctly conceived and vitally reproduced 
in its characteristic features. 

In the treatment of this subject matter the following method 
is to be pursued in general. 



DRAWING 517 

After the pupils individually or in groups have been provided 
with models, the characteristics, which are important for pic- 
torial reproduction, are established by a discussion of the object. 
The teacher points out the method of reproduction by sketching 
the object on the board in clear, distinct Hnes. Next the whole 
model and its chief parts are sketched and when this is done 
the details are taken up. After the pupils have thoroughly 
learned the essentials of the natural form to be reproduced, 
they draw it once more from memory with crayon or char- 
coal, and then they take up its reproduction with pencil. Here 
especial attention is to be given that the pupil does not skip 
hastily over the characteristic features and that on the other 
hand he does not copy in superficial imitation the unimportant 
details. 

C Upper Section. Sixth, seventh, and eighth years. Work : 
Drawing from objects is expanded to include the reproduction 
of phenomena of perspective and shading. The exercises in 
connection with harmony of color and drawing from memory 
are continued. Exercises in sketching with pencil and brush 
are taken up as opportunity affords. Vases, utensils, tools, 
instruments, parts of the school building and natural objects 
will serve as models. 

Examples for the sixth year : Chest, box, flower-pot, key, 
cup, bowl, glass, etc. ; plum, apple, pear, onion, pumpkin, grapes, 
walnut, poppy-head, ground cherry, pine-cone, etc. 

Examples for the seventh year : Jug, pot, vase, wine-glass, 
table, bench, chair, cupboard, half-opened window, stove, etc. 
Leaves, twigs, fruit, rubber-tree, copper-beech, oak, laurel tree, 
artichoke, ear of corn, thistle, etc. 

Examples for the eighth year: Parts of the schoolroom 
and schoolhouse, clock, mortar, lamp, chandelier, street-lamp, 
etc. Natural objects as in Class 7. In addition buds and 
blooms: anemone, narcissus, tulips; also mussels, snail-shells, 



5i8 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

beetles, animal heads, stuffed birds, and quadrupeds. Drawing 
material is the same as in the middle section. Charcoal is to 
be used by the beginners ; later the pencil. Instruction is given 
individually, to groups, or to the whole class, as the nature of 
the work demands. 

As in the middle and lower sections, the real task of the in- 
struction in the upper section that should be kept in mind is 
that the pupils learn to observe independently, to reproduce 
accurately, and to retain a clear picture of the object drawn. 
The phenomena, therefore, of perspective, shading and color 
are not to be made known to the child by means of theoretical 
explanation and constructions, but by practical exercises in 
the observation of definite objects. The objects are to be so 
placed that the pupil can really perceive the phenomena which 
he is about to observe. The correct conception of perspective, 
lights, and color is the chief thing and not the clever execution 
and dependent imitation of unimportant details. 

In sketching it is a question of reproducing the model faith- 
fully, but with as simple medium as possible. 

The following method is to be used in general. 

The pupil is led to observe the model closely and on the basis 
of his observation to sketch with free-hand the whole object. 
He compares his drawing with the object, either by placing 
it beside the object or by holding it as far from himself as possible. 
The errors which do not appear to him are pointed out and 
improved under the direction of the teacher, by means of per- 
pendicular and horizontal lines. At the same time the shading 
is done. Only after the plastic impression is obtained in this 
manner, can any advance be made to further instruction. Here 
attention is especially to be given that the final effect is not to 
be destroyed by overemphasis of details. 

Also in painting the pupils are urged to put in the chief tones, 
to prove their correctness by comparison with the model in the 



DRAWING 519 

manner given above, and always to hold the total impression 
in mind. 

II. Mechanical (Geometrical) Drawing. Mechanical draw- 
ing is connected with geometry in the sixth school year. In 
Classes 2 and i every fourth drawing period is to be given over 
to mechanical drawing. 

Work : Instruction in mechanical drawing is to develop the 
power of spatial representation in the pupils and to train them 
in the preparation of clean, accurate drawings and also in the 
use of the compass, ruler, and drawing-pen. 

Sixth school year — Class 3. Drawing of geometrical figures 
and constructions. Drawing to scales. 

Seventh school year — Class 2. Projection of simple bodies : 
prisms, cubes, pyramids, and combinations of these forms. Draw- 
ing of correspondingly simple objects (box, table, bench) to a 
given scale. 

Eighth school year — Class i . Continuation of the pro- 
jection of simple soHds : cylinder, sphere, and combinations of 
these forms. Drawing to a scale. 

The use of patterns and blackboards is forbidden. The work 
in Classes i and 2 begins with solids as models. This work is 
not to be continued too long. Rather such exercises are to 
be given up as soon as possible and such exercises substituted as 
are not illustrated by any particular model, but only indicated 
by a sketch by the teacher. The pupil learns in this way to 
read projection drawings. 

The models are to be drawn in horizontal sections, vertical 
elevation and, if necessary, lateral perspective. Other plane 
sections occurring in the model and the top of the object are also 
to be reproduced. Entire models are to be reproduced in right- 
and acute-angled parallel projection. The drawings are to be 
executed with drawing-pen and drawing-ink. The drawings 
are to be tinted with a light, quiet color. 



520 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

It has been over ten years since these regulations have been 
passed and it is only natural that within so short a time the 
whole teaching of the subject has not been changed. The chief 
reason for the slow change in method is the lack of a body of 
teachers trained in the spirit of the regulations of 1902. A 
vast majority of the teachers in the Volksschulen at the present 
time were educated before the date of the regulations and hence 
have been unable to change materially. This accounts for the 
very poor teaching of a rather good course of study. The course 
of study is a very radical change from all that preceded it. Up 
to 1902 the need of mechanical and geometrical drawing in the 
ordinary trades has made itself felt so strongly that almost all 
of the work in the Volksschulen in this subject had taken a 
mechanical turn. Drawing was considered merely an aid to 
geometry, and it had not been regarded as a means of expression 
in relation to German, nature study, geography, history, and the 
other subjects in the curriculum. 

Only a small portion of those who teach drawing are par- 
ticularly trained for it. As in domestic science and physical 
special training, an examination is held every year for 

Teachers special teachers in drawing. Candidates for this 
examination must have finished the equivalent of six years in the 
secondary school and be nineteen years of age. The examination 
lasts five days and covers drawing from Ufe, flowers, plants, 
still Hfe, blackboard drawing, mechanical drawing, methods, 
course of study, regulations, fitting of drawing room, drawing 
materials, history of art. 

There have been a great many short courses given since 1902 
to prepare the old teachers to work according to the new regula- 
tions, but as yet only the younger and special teachers are really 
doing their work in the spirit of the modern movement. 

During the first year, drawing is a part of the German in- 
struction, the objects to be drawn being taken from the im- 



DRAWING 521 

mediate environment of the child. In the second and third years 
one hour a week is especially set apart for drawing, while during 
the remaining five years of the middle and upper 

• . Hours 

sections two hours a week are assigned to it. This 
holds for city schools. In the country schools with one, two, 
or three teachers, one hour a week ordinarily suffices for the sub- 
ject. In Munich and in some industrial cities more time is as- 
signed to drawing than here indicated. 

The chief task of the drawing instruction in the lower section 
of the Volksschule is to teach the children to draw objects of 
common Hfe from memory. Drawing from memory Lower 
does not mean that the child is to reproduce an apple Section 
merely from memory of having seen it outside the school. It 
means he shall be able to reach that point of ability. Sometimes 
the object is shown the children first and discussed in regard 
to its chief characteristics and then drawn. Sometimes the 
teacher has the children draw the object first as they are able, 
then come the comparison with the object itself and the dis- 
cussion, and finally another drawing. Children are allowed 
to draw as they feel and understand, both with regard to color 
and form. Self-expression is the aim. One teacher told me 
that self-expression was very wasteful of drawing materials 
and that the class never kept together. Corrections in the lower 
section limit themselves to oral explanations and brief explana- 
tions on the blackboard. Details are avoided as far as possible. 
It was our observation that German children have a very differ- 
ent color appreciation from that of American children. In the 
use of crayolas in the lower grades, they invariably used the very 
loudest, brightest color. Ordinarily children are allowed to 
use pencils and rough paper, charcoal, chalk, and crayolas in the 
lower grades. Drawing books with patterns to be copied are 
not allowed in any section of the school. 

Special rooms for drawing are first used by children in the 



52 2 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

middle section when drawing from objects is first begun. No 
country schools and only the most modern city buildings have 
Middle drawing rooms. The regular classroom serves ordi- 
Section narily for the purpose. In case the building is 
equipped with a special room for drawing, the latter is usually 
found on the top floor in order that it may be well lighted. Each 
child has his own drawing desk, and a cabinet for his drawings. 
The cabinets are generally arranged in the form of filing cases 
and are alphabetically grouped. The rooms are always large 
and are provided with water connections and artificial lighting. 

The work in the middle section is chiefly drawing leaves, 
butterflies, fish, and the like. These are always drawn from 
models. In the richer cities the children are often provided with 
mounted specimens of butterflies, leaves, etc., while in the smaller 
towns and in the country the teacher, with the aid of the chil- 
dren, has to make his own collection. The teacher usually makes 
a drawing first to show in general the method as to what parts 
of the object are to be drawn first, the use of sketch lines, and 
observation of dimensional relationships. The outline form is 
gotten first and at last the details. Sense of color is also trained 
in this section. The mediums are oil-crayons (crayolas) and 
water-colors and white and yellow drawing-paper. In using 
colors, the outline of the object is sketched first and then the 
colors are filled in. 

The results in the work in this section were very poor as far 
as our observation went. The teachers as a rule did too much 
or nothing at all for their pupils and they had gone from the 
extreme of mechanical work to the other extreme of utmost 
self-expression on the part of the child, and the result was that 
the children floundered. Many objects were unrecognizable to 
us. The teachers gave more actual aid in correction of errors in 
this section than in the lower section and the instruction tended 
to be more individual. 



DRAWING 523 

Mechanical or geometrical drawing is begun in the sixth year 
at the same time that geometry is begun. Mechanical drawing 
fits itself more into the scheme of things in German upper 
schools than does free-hand drawing. It is much Section 
more orderly, it is much easier to keep everybody together in 
the work, and is more definite than free-hand drawing. It is 
the type of work that has always been done in the German schools. 
We found some really fine work in geometrical and elementary 
design. Perspective work was rather poor except in a few cases. 
Free-hand drawing was in very much the same disorganized 
condition as in the middle section. 

No group of school men recognize the great value of drawing 
for the mental development and powers of expression of children 
more than do the Germans. Dr. Kerschensteiner, of Munich, has 
laid particular emphasis upon the value of the subject. He makes 
drawing a means of expression, and indeed almost the most 
important means of expression in all subjects, even in German 
literature. He emphasizes drawing for its practical value as 
prevocational training for both boys and girls. 

The status of drawing in regard to both method and con- 
tent is now undergoing radical changes in Germany. The aim 
of the subject and the practice are more widely 
divorced than in any other subject. The new move- 
ment in drawing in the German elementary schools is due in a 
large measure to American and EngHsh influence. The reason 
for the great amount of failure in the drawing is very evident. 
Freedom and self-expression are not permitted the children in 
any other subject than drawing and the children simply do not 
know what it means. Their ability to express independent 
ideas has largely been killed by the routine of instruction. The 
teachers suffer from the same trouble. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
* MANUAL TRAINING 

Manual training for boys is not a regular subject of instruc- 
tion in the Prussian Volksschule, nor in many of the other Ger- 
man states. The subject is generally elective. In 

Prevalence . . . 

some cities, for example, Mumch, manual training is 
compulsory. The expression ''elective" refers to choice on the 
part of the school and not on the part of the pupils. If a city 
or a school decides to introduce manual training for boys, all the 
boys are required to take the work. It may seem strange that 
the girls have had sewing and cooking for many years, while 
the handwork for boys has been neglected. The reason for there 
having been no manual training for boys is that the educational 
policy in Germany has been to leave all vocational or prevoca- 
tional training to trade or continuation schools, and accordingly 
no provision for manual training for boys in the Volksschule was 
considered necessary. Sewing and cooking were incorporated 
in the curriculum of the Volksschule, because only recently has 
ample provision been made for girls in the way of continuation 
and vocational schools. 

During the last quarter of a century a movement has been 
growing in Germany to foster the manual training work in the 
Volksschulen. Under the leadership of the Deutscher Verein fur 
Knahenhandarheit, a great deal of progress has been made, es- 
pecially with regard to training of teachers. At the present time 
there are training schools for manual training teachers in Leipzig 
and Hannover, and there are also a large number of normal 
schools in all German states which offer manual training courses. 

524 



MANUAL TRAINING 525 

The Ministry in Berlin has also taken cognizance of the move- 
ment.^ The following reasons for manual training in the public 
schools, particularly the Volksschulen, appear important : 

The transformation of the whole economic fabric in the last century has 
deprived the youthful generations of conditions favorable to later vocational 
training. In rural communities the youth still learns that which is most 
important for his life's calling in that he is associated closely with his elders ; 
likewise in the small and middle-sized cities the child has the opportunity 
of helping the adults in their work, and at least of observing it directly. 
Conditions in the large city are entirely different. The production and the 
consumption of goods are for the most part entirely dissociated. Between 
the life of the workshop and that of the family the only relationship is the 
wage. The work of the father and frequently that of the mother is 
unknown and unintelligible to the child. A regular occupation within 
the narrow walls of the home is for the most part impossible. It is only 
exceptionally that there are even sufficient playgrounds provided for the 
children. Accordingly nothing remains except the street, which, it is true, 
offers much diversion and excitement, but is not the place for a well- 
regulated physical activity. 

The economic and social conditions require that the school take over as 
far as possible that which the home no longer does, or is able to do. 

Before all else the choice of occupations shows that a weU-planned in- 
troduction for physical education is lacking for a considerable portion of 
the children, and that the real joy in work is wanting. The inclination to 
do hard physical work is decreasing. This holds not only for the large cities 
but in general. The hand-working trades complain seriously that it is dif- 
ficult, indeed often impossible, to secure a satisfactorily prepared body of 
apprentices. Industry also suffers from a lack of skilled workmen. The 
German Committee for Technical Schools has pointed out recently with 
emphasis that it is very important for the mechanical industries that a 
greater number of well-prepared skilled workmen be educated than hereto- 
fore. If such were done, the quick readjustment to new technical inven- 
tions would become possible and a very important element in the ability 
of Germany to compete in the world's markets would be secured. 

While there is a general lack in recruits for the skilled trades, the rush to 
unskilled labor is extraordinarily great. In Berlin errand boys and helpers 

^ Zentralblati, 1912, p. 520. 



526 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 



make up a third, and in many cities of the Rhine districts a half, of the male 
youth employed in commerce and industry. These young men perform 
work of all kinds. Positions are changed quickly and frequently, according 
to opportunity and whim. The employer concerns himself about them not 
at all or only exceptionally. Worst of all, the young man becomes independ- 
ent of his family far too early. He receives a comparatively high wage ; it 
is not an infrequent thing that a boy in the continuation school earns fifteen 
to twenty marks ($3.75 to $5.00) weekly. On the other hand, the wage does 
not increase sufficiently with increasing age, and the livelihood remains 
permanently unsatisfactory. The unlearned youth belong chiefly to the 
most needy class of society; they contribute the greater part of children 
to orphans' homes. The education of these masses of youthful unskilled 
workmen is one of the most difficult problems of the present. The continua- 
tion school and child welfare movement have important problems to solve 
in this field. Even if they do their best, the educational effect, which the 
choice of a definite life's calling exercises, is lacking. 

Therefore it is of the greatest importance that the number of unskilled 
workers does not become greater than is absolutely necessary under existing 
social and economic conditions. All means which can serve to bring the 
youth to take up skilled trades therefore deserve earnest attention. The 
proper advice with regard to choice of trade in the Volksschule and the con- 
tinuation school, also from the doctor and the employment bureau, is a 
pressing need and will be able to do much. More than anything else, 
manual training will he suited to awaken the desire and love for learning a 
definite trade. 

In foreign countries one notices in manual training the most important 
means for the advancement of skilled labor and the education of workers 
trained for a trade. The example of Anglo-Saxon countries proves this. 
Just recently the English educational authorities were striving to bring 
about a closer connection between their many manual training schools and 
their public schools. . . . For this reason we consider it necessary to devote 
to the question of manual training an increased attention, and in every pos- 
sible way to advance the education of the youth in the public schools with 
regard to joy and ability in work. 

Practically all the larger cities in Germany have introduced 
manual training into some of their schools. Out of 38,684 
lower schools in Prussia only 11 69 had introduced manual train- 
ing in 191 1. The subject is found more in the cities near the 



1 



MANUAL TRAINING 527 

Rhine than in other parts of the empire. This is true on ac- 
count of the industrial nature of these cities. All the elemen- 
tary schools in Diisseldorf and Dortmund have manual training 
shops. Out of the 33,559 country schools only 407 had manual 
training in 191 1. About one seventh of the city schools in 
Prussia, and about one country school in every eighty, teach 
manual training for boys. 

Handwork for boys includes varied activities, some of which 
are exercises in paper, cardboard, and sticks, light wood-work, 
clay modeling, pasteboard work, wood carving, metal 

. . Course 

work and modehng. All of these are very seldom in- 
cluded in one course, and the work in the Volksschule is limited 
usually to one or two mediums. In Munich the work confines 
itself to work with wood and metal and is taught only in the 
highest grade. In Worms manual training is obHgatory and is 
begun in the third grade. The work in the third grade begins 
with modeling in clay and plastiline and continues throughout 
the fourth grade. Pasteboard work is begun in the fifth grade 
and continued in the sixth. Wood- work is confined to the 
seventh and eighth grades. In Dortmund manual training is 
taught in only three schools, the subject being elective. The 
course deals with elementary work in metal and wood. As far as 
we could observe, the work in manual training was very similar 
in all respects to that given in our schools in America. The 
shops are never well equipped as with us. The Germans have 
made a rather close study of manual training in America, and it 
can be said safely that the actual shop work is more American 
than Danish, whence the beginning of the movement came. 

Good teachers of manual training are scarce in the Volksschulen. 
Of course, there are plenty of good teachers of wood-work and 
the like in trade schools, but as yet the number avail- 
able for the Volksschule is small. They have exactly 
the same difficulty in Germany as in America when a new sub- 



528 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

ject seeks to make its way into the schools. The old teachers j 
do not know how to teach it and do not want to learn. Ac- | 
cordingly special teachers are trained, or master workmen are _ i 
called on, and the subject is made elective, until more favorable li 
conditions obtain. Gradually courses in manual training are 
being put into the normal schools, and manual training normal 
schools and special courses are being established. 

The course of study for teachers, usually coming from the 
Courses for ranks of the elementary school teachers, is typified by 
Teachers ^j^a,t given at the Simon School of Gardening and 
Manual Training in Hannover. The course is half a year in 
length.^ 

Rural Wood-work. — In connection with gardening this course deals with 
the preparation of such wooden structures as are common in gardening or 
about the rural household. 

Shop Work. — Here the student receives such instruction as will aid in 
teaching wood-work in the schools. He also learns to make equipment that 
can be used in geometry and the natural and physical sciences. 

Wood-work. — It begins with work with saw and chisel. Then comes 
work in joinery. Several more or less difficult pieces are prepared in this 
course. The more capable can work with the lathe. 

Metal Work. — Work with iron, copper, etc. 

Pasteboard Work. 

Chemistry, Physics, Methods, Drawing. 

It is easily recognized that the position of manual work for 

boys in the Volksschulen is not very much respected and is by 

no means well secured. The shops provided are 

Conclusion i i .r i • i i • 

usually makeshifts ; the work is largely elective ; 
the teachers are not well prepared ; not enough money is given 
to insure good results ; the purposes of the subject are not well 
defined. We can say no more than that a beginning has been 
made. 

1 Zentralblatt, 19 12, p. 688. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

PHYSICAL TRAINING 

Since 1862 physical training has been compulsory in all 
Prussian schools both in the city and in the country. Com- 
munities were required to provide gymnasiums and grounds for 
physical exercises. Teachers were required to fit themselves to 
teach the subject in the schools. Children's games were added 
to the course in gymnastics in 1882 ^ and at the present time the 
play feature is one of the most important in the whole course. 
The play movement received further encouragement from the 
Ministry in 1908 ^ in regulations concerning games, excursions, 
and the like, all of which were to be encouraged in the Volks- 
schule, in order to further the physical welfare of the nation. 
In 1910 a third hour for gymnastics, games, and play was added 
to the curriculum of the Volksschule in all Prussian schools.^ 
More and more the educational authorities are recognizing the 
enormous influence of physical activity upon the mental and 
moral character of the people. The government has recognized 
that up to the present time a far too large share of the time has 
been given to routine school work and not enough to the bodies 
of the children. Strength, endurance, beauty, and health are the 
purpose of the course now rather than mere muscular devel- 
opment as heretofore. German gymnastics were heavy until 
changed by the introduction of the more valuable portions of 
Swedish systems in recent years. In addition to the regular 
three hours each week for physical training, all children are re- 

^Min. Erl., Oct. 27, 1882. ^ Zentralblatt, 1908, p. 516. 

3 Ibid., 1910, p. 597. 
2 1£ 529 



530 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

quired to have ten minutes of breathing and arm exercises on 
the days when there is no regular work in the gymnasium. 
Some of the purposes of physical training are as follows : ^ 

1. To further physical development and to increase the health of the 
youth. 

2. To accustom the body to a natural, graceful carriage. 

3. To increase strength, endurance, and versatility of the body. 

4. To assure the acquirement of certain skill which is useful in later 
life, especially with reference to service in the army. 

5. To awaken and further self-confidence and resoluteness of the will 
by increasing the health, strength, and ability of the body. 

6. To aid the school in its educational activity, that the pupils are 
trained in the performance of physical exercises to strict attention, quick 
comprehension, accurate execution of a command, and to willing subor- 
dination to the purposes of a greater whole. 

The course in physical training varies a great deal accord- 
ing to local conditions, depending on equipment and teaching 
Course of force. All courses are based on the " Instructions 
study fQj. physical training instruction in the Prussian 

Volksschule^^ of 1895, and on ''Regulations for physical training 
for boys in Volksschulen without gymnasiums," of 1909. The 
following course of study is merely a general outline to show 
the nature of the work in the various sections of the Volksschule. 

In the lower section the course in physical training includes 
Lower Sec- many simple running, singing, and ball games; also 
*^°° games of imitation, such as Komm mil, Wollt ihr Wis- 

sefij Die Tyroler sind lustig, and the like. 

To prepare the children for formal work, marching games 
and play are used, — marching in flank and column formation, 
walking and running, Swedish exercises of the simplest nature 
in connection with imitation games ; later real Swedish exer- 
cises like arm swinging, arm bending and stretching, back bend- 
ing and turning, leg swinging and bending, knee bending. 
^ Leitfadenjiir den Turnunterricht in preussischen Schulen, 1895. 



I 



PHYSICAL TRAINING 531 

The work in the middle and upper sections is more formal 
and may be discussed under several heads as follows : Middle and 

upper Sec- 

1. Formations: Taking of positions, military formations. *^°^^ 

2. Swedish exercises : (a) Body exercises, head exercises, leg exer- 
cises; (b) position exercises, preliminary swimming exercises, breathing 
exercises, waist exercises. 

3. Apparatus work: Jumping, rope-climbing, rack, horse, parallel 
bars, rings, ladder, suspended bar, and other apparatus. 

4. Walking, running, hopping exercises, ordinary walk, toe-walk, 
rapid-walk, climbing-walk, stretching-walk, endurance run, hopping, 
Hmping. 

5. Popular exercises : Wrestling, tug-of-war, weight-throwing, con- 
tests in high jump, broad jump, hop-step- jump, relay race, and the like. 

6. Games : Games with apparatus, balls, ropes, games without ap- 
paratus. 

7. Walking and tramping in the open country. We have already 
referred to this several times. 

Every German school, whether it be in the city or in the 
country, gives three hours each week in physical training in the 
two upper sections, ordinarily on alternate days. In 
country schools or in city schools which have no gym- 
nasiums or covered courts for the work, physical training is 
omitted on stormy days and an indoor exercise is substituted. 
In the lower section of the Volksschule only one or two hours a 
week are devoted to physical training. 

The greater part of the teaching is done by teachers who also 
give instruction in other subjects. Of course, in the country 
this is always the case, and in the majority of cases in 
the city the physical training work is done by the regu- 
lar classroom teacher. There is an increasingly greater number 
of special teachers in physical training, both among the men 
and among the women. The larger part of the teachers receive 
their training for the work in the normal schools, where this 
subject forms a regular part of the course. There are, how- 



532 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

ever, in Prussia several special institutions for the education 
of physical training teachers of both sexes. There are also a 
number of special courses offered each summer. Those who 
desire to become regular physical training teachers are re- 
quired to pass an examination which consists of an oral, 
Examina- written, and practical test. The candidate must have 
*^°° passed at least six years in a higher school or its 

equivalent. The written examination consists of an essay 
dealing with physical training and answers to questions hav- 
ing to do with the subject. The oral part covers the his- 
tory of the subject, methods, course of study, vocabulary, 
and terminology, apparatus, equipment, physiology, and hy- 
giene of physical training, and principles of education. The 
practical part requires demonstration of ability to carry out 
given physical exercises. Swimming may be included. The 
Royal Institute for Teachers of Physical Training, in BerHn, 
is the best known institution for the preparation for this ex- 
amination, although attendance at this school is by no means 
necessary. 

Very few rural schools have regular gymnasiums and only 
the newer buildings in the large cities are so equipped. In 
Gymnasi- some cities One gymnasium serves four or five schools, 
"°^^ thus keeping the gymnasium in use practically all the 

time by different groups of children. These g3annasiums may 
be in school buildings or they may belong to the city or to some 
Turnverein, of which there are always a great many. As might 
be expected, the gymnasiums vary a great deal in equipment and 
in arrangement as to ventilation and lighting. The equipment is 
generally sufficient and of good character, there always being an 
abundance of horses, bars, ropes, ladders, mats, clubs, dumb- 
bells, wands. The floors in many cases leave much to be desired. 
Sometimes they are very rough and bumpy. More often they 
are dusty. The lighting is sometimes very poor, and the ventila- 



PHYSICAL TRAINING 533 

tion is almost without exception bad, even when there is pro- 
vision made for it. 

One example is rather characteristic of the worst type of 
gymnasiums, which are by no means few in number. I went out 

one afternoon from School No. i, in the city of S with 

the teacher and fifty boys to the gymnasium in order to see 
them at work. The teacher was not a regular gymnasium 
director and he told me that he did not like the work, nor did 
any one else that he knew, save regular physical training teachers. 
The boys were very orderly in everything and gave implicit 
obedience to every command. Four or five of them had special 
suits and a dozen or more had tennis shoes ; the others wore their 
school clothes and went in stocking feet while in the gymnasium. 
The floor was of ship's decking and was extremely dusty. The 
hall was large and poorly Hghted. Artificial lighting was used 
later in the hour. There were no baths in connection with the 
gymnasium. The teacher wore his school suit and tennis shoes. 
He gave his directions from a raised platform. 

The work consisted very largely of marching and making 
different formations. All this work was done with the rigidity 
of Prussian militarism and was continued about twenty-five 
minutes. By that time the air was so full of dust that most 
of the children were coughing and they themselves were wet 
with perspiration. Then came some apparatus work. The 
class was divided into four sections and they were to learn to 
go over the ^' horse" backwards and sideways. The teacher 
showed them how once or twice, then they worked by them- 
selves. For protection one boy always stood at the "horse" 
to catch any who might fall. In all respects, the work was 
similar to that in some of our gymnasiums. 

When the hour was up, the boys sang Deutschland, Deutsch- 
land iiber alles, put on their coats and collars, if they had re- 
moved them, and went home. No one thought about a bath. 



534 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Some never did. Bathing is not a part of the physical work in 
the schools. This description is typical of the poorer class of 
gymnasiums. 

The better class, very few in number relatively, are really very 
fine. The floors are of linoleum or hard wood, immaculately 
clean, and excellently ventilated and equipped. In some of the 
better girls' schools the children were required to wear special 
clothing, and the work was actually in charge of a special teacher. 
This type of school gymnasium is the ideal of the German school 
man, but lack of funds and ministerial indifference are account- 
able for the poor condition of this subject in the Volksschulen. 
One might say where there are new schools there are good gym- 
nasiums, usually in separate buildings, and where there are old 
school buildings, there are no, or poor, gymnasiums. 

The country schools and the towns of smaller rank generally 
have outdoor gymnasiums. The equipment is usually re- 
stricted to the horizontal and parallel bars, the jump- 
Gymna- ing Standards, climbing poles, ropes, trapeze, and 
*"™^ sand pits. Every school has some kind of exercise 

ground which is usually the playground. The only draw- 
back with this arrangement is the loss of time incurred owing 
to inclement weather. It is in regard to outdoor gymnasiums 
that the Germans excel our schools. Every school in town or 
country has some kind of outdoor equipment for physical 
training. In a sense the country child needs the work more 
than the town child, and every child in Prussia gets an oppor- 
tunity for some sort of formal gymnasium work. 

Whether or not the school has a gymnasium, whenever the 
weather permits, the physical training work is carried on out- 
side in the open air. On the days when there is no regular 
gymnasium work, the children are given five or ten minutes of 
breathing and setting-up exercises. The purpose of these short 
exercises is to wake up the child and develop habits of deep 



PHYSICAL TRAINING 535 

breathing. These exercises are given ordinarily after two or 
three hours of continuous school work. The usual exercises are 
arm stretching upwards ten or fifteen times, body bending 
backwards ten times, rolHng and circling with bent arms for- 
ward and backwards, toe raising and stretching, running on the 
toes, standing still, leg stretching. The classroom is used for 
this purpose except in good weather. 

Swimming is a part of the physical training course in a few of 
the German Volksschulen. Opportunity is given for swimming 
in many cities in the public pools, although the schools 
are not responsible for the children learning to swim. 
The course of study sometimes takes up ''dry land" swimming, 
and this instruction is of some benefit to the children. Up to 
the present the swimming is not a serious part of the course. 
We have seen good swimming instruction for school children in 
Berlin, Hannover, Duisburg, Danzig, Barmen, Gelsenkirchen, 
Bochum, and Erfurt. 

We can give only general impressions in regard to the physical 
training work in the Volksschulen. A discussion of the actual 
exercises and methods would not be of benefit sufficient to merit 
the space here. 

The work is, on the whole, too military in character, due, no 
doubt, to the mihtary training of many of the teachers and to 
the mihtary purpose to which the subject looks for- 

1 A r 1 • • 1 11., Conclusion 

ward. As far as our observations carried us, the chil- 
dren do not get to play — really play. It is all too formal — 
there is no free play to speak of at all. Everything is directed 
and proposed by the teacher. According to the regulation 
of 1 9 10 the third gymnasium period is given over entirely 
to play — this indicates in itself what the need of the physical 
training work is. The teachers themselves are poorly prepared 
for their work and too often detest doing it. They are seldom 
properly dressed for it and this is no doubt the cause for the 



536 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

dislike. The children frequently do not enjoy the exercises 
because they are not clothed for it and are uncomfortable after- 
wards because of being forced to sit around in sweaty garments. 
At the same time, although the methods may be condemned, 
the amount of time and importance given to the subject holds a 
very important lesson for us. We, as a nation, neglect the health 
and bodies of our children in the public school. No German 
child is overlooked. Some will say that the children in New 
York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Nashville do 
receive physical training. Thus far it is good. What of the 
children in the country? And in the small towns and cities? 
They receive nothing. Some day America will learn that healthy 
citizens are its greatest assets. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
CONCLUSION 

The reader who turns to this chapter without having read 
closely the preceding ones is sure to be disappointed. An effort 
has been made to put forward a plain statement of the facts as 
they have been observed, and we have not been anxious to 
interpret them, because we should prefer that our observations 
serve as a basis of opinion rather than that we should impose our 
own interpretation upon the reader. The impressions that have 
been received will be summarized, and an attempt will be made to 
indicate some of the ways in which American school men might 
profitably learn from the Germans. 

Students of German elementary schools often err in their 
judgment of this type of school because they do not understand 
its relation to the whole educational machinery. The Volks- 
schule is only one of the many parts which make up the educa- 
tional system. Each part, whether it be the elementary school 
system, the higher school system, the universities, the normal 
schools, technical schools, or continuation schools, performs a 
very definite function in the educational work which the State 
requires to be done. 

During the nineteenth century the leaders of Germany de- 
cided that Germany should assume leadership in the world in 
every Kne of endeavor, particularly in commerce and world 
power. They set this as the very definite goal of their national 
ambition. The next question was how that aim could be accom- 
plished. It was to be done through education. Accordingly 
school systems were organized with this aim in view. In a state 

537 



538 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

such as the Germans proposed building there were to be leaders 
and followers. The followers were to be trained for a docile, 
efficient German citizenship; that is, the lower classes were to 
be made into God-fearing, patriotic, economically independent 
Germans. This was the task of the Volksschule, and it has been 
wonderfully well accomplished. This type of German is created 
to do the manual labor of the State. 

The leaders were to be trained in the middle and higher schools 
and in the universities. There were to be different grades of 
leaders : leaders in the lower walks of life, leaders in the middle 
walks of life, and leaders of the nation. The higher school and 
universities were employed to produce these types of leaders. 
From the time of beginning in the higher school at the age of 
nine until the universities are finished, barriers are placed in the 
way of advancement of those who would become leaders. Those 
who fail at the age of fifteen at the time of the one-year volun- 
teer examination, or who quit school at that age, become leaders 
of the lower ord^er. Those who fall before the barrier of the 
leaving examination of the higher schools become leaders of some- 
what higher rank. In the universities, the restraint of the higher 
schools is withdrawn, and the students are given absolute free- 
dom. Those who can survive this test of character and who 
can pass the state examinations have opened to themselves the 
way to become the leaders in national affairs ; those who cannot 
survive must accept lower positions. 

There are then leaders and followers. The leaders think and 
do; the followers merely do. The schools are organized for 
the express purpose of producing just these types. It is pre- 
cisely because these facts are true that we cannot take over the 
German system or any of its parts without radical changes. 
They educate the individual for the state; we make the state 
for the individual. 

The lesson to learn here is this. The German sets definitely 



CONCLUSION 539 

his national aims. Those in authority shape every resource to 
reach that goal. The schools were molded to meet the needs 
of state. We, in America, should formulate very definitely 
the goal in keeping with democratic principles for which we are 
aiming and shape our educational policies toward that end. 
Unless we take the situation in hand and prepare our citizenship 
to meet shocks from without, our country is almost sure to meet 
with grave disaster. 

Any conclusions as to the efficiency of the German schools 
must be drawn with due regard for the purpose which the schools 
are intended to subserve. One must judge the achievements 
of the German elementary schools from the standpoint of the 
German, for what may be highly inefficient for us may be of the 
greatest elB&ciency for him. The school that can turn out a 
good hard-working, industriously efficient, law-abiding German, 
content to plod along in his unchanging groove, must be considered 
excellent in Germany, but would be open to the severest criti- 
cism if it were established in America, That of which we dis- 
approve is usually condemnable only from our own standpoint, 
although it may be highly praiseworthy when judged from the 
German point of view. 

The first great aim of German elementary education is the 
production of an efficient German citizen. An efficient German 
citizen is one who is God-fearing, one who is economi- 
cally independent and who is ready and willing to German 
take his place in that part of the social order to which Elementary 

^ ^ ^ Education 

he belongs. This comes to mean that the Volksschule 
must furnish that general education which is necessary to all 
citizens and which is the basis of subsequent occupational train- 
ing. This latter training is usually cared for by the Fachschulen 
or special schools ; in this case, the continuation and trade schools. 
The second aim of German elementary education is an un- 
conscious one, but nevertheless unavoidably present. We 



540 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

interpret it as the felt need of producing in large numbers a type 
of citizenship easily amenable to the dictates of bureaucratic 
officialdom. This under class is composed of the peasants, 
small tradesmen, subordinate officials, artisans, and other labor- 
ing classes, together comprising fully ninety per cent of the 
total population. 

Chief among the avowed aims of the Volksschule is the forma- 
tion of moral and rehgious character. There is no doubt that 
the reason religion is made one of the chief subjects of in- 
struction in the elementary schools is to teach the lesson of 
obedience to authority which is the basis of the German state. 

The reader should interpret the preceding chapters in the 
light of the aims of the elementary school which we have just 
stated. In no other way can a variety of practices current 
in the German Volksschule be justified. 

The educational system of Germany has developed from the 
higher forms of education downward. Also, as a corollary, 
Lesson of schools for the upper classes of society developed 
the Devei- long before general institutions of learning were 
thrGerman established for the common people. The Volksschule 
Voiks- hag been evolved for the most part since the middle 

schule r 1 . 1 T 

of the eighteenth century, in a period contempora- 
neous with the universal democratic movement in all human in- 
stitutions. However, the Volksschule is not, in Germany, the 
product of a desire felt by the masses for general culture and 
training or for the foundations of occupational education. The 
elementary schools have been given to the people by rulers who 
saw that the strength of Government lay in an educated body 
of subjects. Perhaps it would be clearer to say that the elemen- 
tary school system of Germany was created by the Government 
for the people. The people themselves did not demand it. 
Nevertheless, the school system is now a thing which the Govern- 
ment can no longer take away from the governed. A partial 



CONCLUSION 541 

explanation of the lack of sympathy between the home and the 
school lies in the fact that the school is not of and from the 
people. This, naturally, is not the only cause for this lack of 
sympathy. It is, however, the historical factor in bringing 
about the situation of which we speak. Because over-centrali- 
zation of administrative, and the paternalistic attitude of the 
government in educational matters have largely produced a 
vast chasm between the home and school in Germany, our 
American states should be on guard against these errors. The 
school can only be a living social factor in so far as it is of and 
from the people and the product of their own activity. 

The next lesson which we Americans can draw from the history 
of the Volksschule is that the excellency of the schools stands 
in direct ratio to the efficiency and preparedness of the teaching 
body. Capable teachers must be adequately paid and adequately 
educated. There is a very high coefficient of correlation between 
the efficiency of schools and the amount of money spent upon 
them. Germany's schools have improved as the total amount 
expended upon them has increased. 

Reference to the chapter dealing with the statistics of the 
German schools shows us that the average amount spent for 
the education of each child is about sixteen dollars. The amount 
is less than is expended in some American states, but it is a great 
deal more than in a majority of our states, especially those in 
the South. Even if the amount expended per child in Ger- 
many does not equal that spent in our richest states, it is 
large enough to insure a very high minimum of excellency, below 
which none of the schools fall, either in the city or in the country. 
The point is this ; all of the German schools are grouped closely 
together on the scales of efficiency and of amount of expenditure. 
This insures protection against unevenness and holes in the 
general education of the people. A curve representing the 
degrees of efficiency of German schools in different communities 



542 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

would approach closely a straight line, while a curve for Ameri- 
can elementary schools would be a very broken one. 

Teaching in Germany is a profession. The members of the 
teaching body form a clear-cut, well-defined professional group 
just as do lawyers and doctors. That teaching is a 
profession in Germany means that a certain fixed 
standard of preparation has been required of those persons get- 
ting ready for that field of work. It also means that its mem- 
bers remain teachers for life. Teaching in America is not yet 
a profession in the true sense of the word, because there is no 
commonly accepted minimum of preparation for the calling, 
and because the teaching body changes so very rapidly. The 
most of our teachers make teaching a stepping-stone to some 
other pursuit. The questions before us now are, how shall we 
make the average teaching life of our teachers longer, and how 
shall we raise the standards for the certification in our elementary 
schools ? 

The best way to increase the length of service of our teachers 
is to provide a money compensation which is in some way ade- 
quate for the work done. The reason that the most of our 
teachers, especially the men, quit the field is because there is 
no money in it, frequently not enough to insure a decent living. 
This point is by no means a new one, but the study of the Ger- 
man elementary scales impresses the truth and value of this 
fact upon our minds. The German elementary school teacher 
does not receive a princely salary, in fact, less, much less, than 
elementary teachers in many of our larger cities, but such as it 
is, it is adequate and secure. His salary provides for him a 
comfortable home, education for his children, some savings, 
and a pension. It is not very difficult to account for the fact 
that teachers thus provided for do not leave the profession. 
If teaching is ever recognized as a full-fledged profession in 
America, it will be only when we pay our teachers adequate 



CONCLUSION 543 

salaries. As salaries are increased, so increase the requirements 
necessary for appointment and the length of time which teachers 
remain in the work, because all three of these elements are 
closely interwoven with each other and increase and decrease 
together. 

The German elementary teacher is better paid than the Amer- 
ican teacher of the same rank. If American and German ele- 
mentary school teachers' salaries were plotted on a scale, it would 
be found that the middle fifty per cent of the German teachers 
would receive far higher salaries than the middle fifty per cent 
of American teachers. For example, the percentage of German 
teachers in the Volksschule receiving seven hundred dollars 
yearly would be far greater than the percentage of American 
teachers receiving the same amount. 

A distinct advantage of the German salary system over the 
American is that the difference in salaries paid in the city and 
in the country is by no means as great there as it is here at 
home. In fact, the only difference between the salaries in 
Germany in cities and in country districts is that in urban com- 
munities local increments are paid in order to equalize the cost 
of living. America must learn that the work of the country 
teacher is just as important as that of the city teacher and should 
be equally well compensated. 

The German salary system has still another phase, which 
may be advantageous to us if adopted to some small degree in 
America. The Germans do not pay an administrative officer 
in their schools a very much greater salary than they pay the 
regular teacher. We Americans very often pay a superintend- 
ent fifteen hundred dollars and the teachers who have been an 
equal length of time in the service only half or less than half as 
much. We should try at least to strike a proper relationship 
between the salary of the administrators and that of the ordinary 
teacher. 



544 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

In close connection with the German salary scale is the 
teacher's pension, which is granted in all German states. Pen- 
sions in Germany are for the most part paid by the 

Permanent . -i . i 

Pension State. Pension systems which are supported by the 
System State are based on a number of errors. First, if the 
teachers are not compelled to contribute to the fund, the in- 
centive for economy and saving is taken from them. This, 
however, is not always the case. Secondly, we can see no reason 
why teachers should be pensioned at all, if their salaries are 
adequate during the years of active service. Fundamentally 
there is no more reason for pensioning a school teacher than 
there is for pensioning a groceryman or a butcher. Each in his 
way performs a service for the state or society and each fills a 
necessary place in a social order. Every citizen should be 
economically independent from the time he enters upon his 
life work until his death. The time for the teacher to receive 
compensation for his service is while he is performing that ser- 
vice, and not two steps before the grave. In America there is 
a social stigma attached to the person who draws a pension or 
lives from money that he has not earned. If we are to have 
pensions at all, let us have contributory systems. It may at 
least develop a spirit of thrift in our teachers which up to this 
time has been sadly lacking. 

The total preparation of the elementary teacher in Germany 
requires fourteen years. As nearly as we can judge this course, 
it is the equivalent of the American high school course and 
two years in college plus the professional courses — pedagogy, 
psychology, and history of education. This is the minimum 
that is required of every regular teacher. Any one acquainted 
with the amount of preparation which a very great number of 
our elementary teachers have can see immediately why the 
German schools on the average are superior to ours. It is not 
necessary that we have a uniform standard of preparation 



CONCLUSION 545 

throughout the country, but it is decidedly necessary that a 
lower limit of preparation be agreed upon, with less than which 
no teacher can be certificated. 

Another very excellent feature of the teacher-training system 
is that the preparation or training requirements of the country 
teacher are just as high as those of the city teacher. In fact, 
a vast majority of all teachers have taught in rural communities. 
The result of this quahty of training is that the work in the 
country schools is almost as efficiently done as in the cities. 
The child does not suffer in his general training from accident 
in place of birth. It follows, of course, that the salaries in rural 
communities are practically the same as in the cities. The 
thought presented in this paragraph is of vital importance to 
us in America. A child on the farm is just as valuable as the 
one in the city and has every right to equal privileges. The 
most striking thing about the elementary school system in Ger- 
many is that all schools, whether in the city or in the country, 
possess the essentials of an efficient school plant — trained 
teachers, good salaries, hygienic and sanitary conditions, well- 
equipped buildings, teaching material, and all other things which 
are absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of the school. 
We in America know what is necessary for good schools, but 
we do not furnish all our children with the same degree of oppor- 
tunity for development. Our country schools are by no means 
on the same plane of excellency as our better city schools. Our 
rural schools are in want of good teachers, good buildings, money, 
and, more than all else, sanitary conditions under which the 
children may work to the best advantage. Until we bring up 
our country schools to a decent standard, until we give the child 
in rural communities equal, or at least fair opportunities, we 
shall continue to strike at the foundation of our national re- 
sources and to waste our vital forces. 

We believe that the chief points in which the German teacher 

2 N 



546 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

has the advantage over the American are : education or prep- 
aration ; permanency in the profession ; and in regard to salary. 
In other points the American does not suffer in comparison. 
The three factors which we have just mentioned, as we said 
before, are all really one and the same. One factor cannot be 
changed without affecting the other two. 

It seems that the best way to attack the problem of the Ameri- 
can public school is to take a lesson from Germany in regard to 
centraHzation and uniformity in the matter of teacher training 
and teachers' salaries. The preparation and certification of 
teachers ought to be a matter of central state authority, be- 
cause then we would have a more general uniformity along 
the minimal line. Likewise, the appointment in the last instance 
should rest with this central authority and should be permanent. 
Appointment of teachers must be taken out of the range of 
local politics, jealousies, personal influence of family and the 
other things which have made the selection of our elementary 
teachers a matter of accident rather than of real qualification. 

To any one who visits American elementary schools the most 
apparent needs are that the teachers have not a great enough 
store of facts to present and that their methods are poorly 
grounded. In the first place, the German elementary teacher 
on the average knows more things to teach and better how to 
teach them than does the American teacher. This is due to 
training alone. It frequently occurs in our schools that a teacher 
knows enough subject matter but has no good way of im- 
parting it to the children. In all our observation in German 
schools, we have rarely seen a teacher who did not have a fairly 
good method, if the aim of German education were kept firmly 
in mind. The situation as we have it in America is due largely 
to the fact that a vast number of our teachers have had no 
training for teaching at all or, if any, only for a very brief period. 
The following case is typical of what some of our larger cities 



CONCLUSION 547 

permit. In a large Southern city where there is a widely known 
college for teachers, there are about fifty girls who finished high 
school one year ago. They have attended the college for a year, 
taking drawing, sewing, cooking, and EngHsh. Next year they 
intend to teach in the primary grades of the above-mentioned 
city. They will have had no pedagogy, no psychology, nor 
anything except subject matter, to prepare them to become 
primary teachers. It is not necessary to take up pages in point- 
ing out Germany's lesson to us in this matter. 

The impression which a careful observer receives of the Ger- 
man school teacher is that each one of them has a vision, each 
one sees what Germany's ideals are, what Germany's hopes 
are, and what are the purposes of the pubHc schools. So many 
of our teachers do not. The profession is a stepping stone to 
some other profession, business and law for men, marriage for 
women. Each German teacher beHeves most fervently that 
the destiny of his country rests in his hands, since he must train 
the youth in patriotic, efficient German citizenship. The 
lesson which the German elementary teacher furnishes us is the 
hardest one to instill in our teachers' minds and characters; 
it is the lesson of patriotism, toil, undying ardor, and zeal for 
the work in hand. We take the hberty to quote from a letter 
written since the recent war began. It is almost identically 
the substance of a conversation which we had with the writer 
in April, 191 4, in which he prophesied the war and told us 
in what fight he considered his duty and privilege as a teacher. 
An extract from the letter follows : 

Here we are working, and we shall do our duty as long as we remain 
here. If the Fatherland calls, then with God for Kaiser and the Empire ; 
for the pen and the sword ; instead of teaching history, we shall help make 
history. The fourteen hundred boys and girls of my school work just as 
well and diligently as when you were here. Only now and then the chil- 
dren have a holiday when our courageous troops announce new victories in 



548 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

the East and in the West. Then you should see the eyes and cheeks of our 

boys and girls burn. Then, my dear A , one can see how wonderful 

the work of a teacher really is. Our people, who are fighting for their most 
sacred possessions, will conquer, and will sooner die than live in slavery, for 
without honor and without freedom no true man can wish to live. 

A study of school administration in Prussia holds a very vital 
lesson in the matter of state and county organization and super- 
vision of public instruction, especially with reference to rural 
schools. Our schools should be removed entirely from the realm 
of politics. All positions in our schools, supervisory or other- 
wise, should be appointive or on a civil service basis rather than 
elective. The vast majority of our state superintendents hold 
their positions for poHtical reasons much more than for pro- 
fessional fitness and abihty. Merit should be the sole basis 
of appointment to such an important educational office, and the 
term of tenure should depend entirely on the continuance of 
efficient and satisfactory service, the degree of efficiency rendered 
to be determined by a board of educational experts. 

It is, however, with the smaller unit of school organization 
that we must concern ourselves. For many years the district 
system has prevailed in America as far as our rural schools have 
been concerned, although we have had county supervision in 
most of our states. Our county superintendents have generally 
been untrained as far as special preparation for administering 
and supervising of schools was concerned. As a rule county 
superintendents have been teachers who by means of political 
influence or local popularity have had themselves elected to 
this office without ever having shown any particular fitness or 
preparation for the work. Consequently our rural schools have 
never had the same quality of administration or supervision 
that our city schools have had. There is no doubt at all that 
we must give our rural schools as efficient and thorough super- 
vision as we give our city schools, if we believe that the rural 



CONCLUSION 549 

population is as important a factor of our social life as the urban 
populations. 

In Germany, theoretically and to a large extent practically, 
the rural schools are under the same sort of supervision as the 
city schools. The district school inspectors {Kreisschulinspek- 
toren) have control not only of the rural schools but also of the 
city schools, no matter what the size of the city may be. Such 
inspectors may be called from any section of the country and 
the choice need not necessarily be Kmited to teachers who have 
served for a long time in the community in question. In this 
way the most efficient applicant may be chosen for the position. 
How different is it here in America ! The rural schools in Ger- 
many, in an ever-increasing percentage, have trained district 
inspectors, who correspond rather closely to our county super- 
intendents. In every case the occupants of this office are highly 
educated and have had wide experience in the education of the 
people. Our usual county superintendent compares in no way 
with the German inspector. 

The unit of school administration in Germany is preeminently 
more satisfactory than our traditional district system in this 
country. The administrative county (Regierungsbezirk) is 
the unit of school administration as far as the Volksschulen 
are concerned. These counties are very similar to counties in 
America with reference to size and to some administrative 
powers. The inspectors who represent the county and who 
actually carry on the immediate inspection of the schools are 
the Kreisschulinspektoren. They are the immediate representa- 
tives of the central govenment at Berlin and are the superiors 
of all other school authorities in their districts. They are ap- 
pointed by the crown and hence removed from petty local 
interference ; and they are highly trained for their work. The 
advantage of having a large unit for administration is that 
financial resources of the district can be better utilized for the 



550 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

benefit of all, which means a high standard of efficiency in every 
way. It also means that the educational policy of the schools 
is not left to a great number of local and less competent school 
board members. About the only thing the local board does 
in a German community is to make proposals and to pay the 
bills. Educational experts decide how it ought to be done. 

Even in some of our counties which have a central board, 
what is the condition? There is frequently a county super- 
intendent who inspects schools and certificates teachers. As 
likely as not the other members of the board are a number of 
cheap poHticians who have interest in schools because of the 
patronage they control. They know nothing of education as a 
profession or of educational aim, and they are in many cases 
scarcely more than literate. Contrast this with the German 
county board. The business end of the schools is handled by 
highly trained government officials, who hold their positions on 
civil service examination. The educational side of the schools 
is under the control of educators who have no interest in politics 
whatever. The lesson for us is plain. The worst form of 
tyranny is ignorance and inefficiency. 

The financing of schools in Germany holds a very important 
lesson for those interested in the question of school finance. It 
costs about sixteen dollars a year to educate each child in the 
Volksschulen of Germany. Why does it cost so much more in 
this country to give a child the same kind of training ? The dif- 
ference in the price of building materials and supplies is part 
of the answer, but not all. Pohtics do not enter into the financing 
of German schools. Bids are let to the lowest bidder, and the 
buildings are never let out to one firm. Each item is subject 
to a bid. It makes no difference to the educational authorities 
who receives the contracts. There are no embezzlements; 
there are no rake-offs. Further than this, expensive educational 
experiments are never tried on a large scale until they have been 



CONCLUSION 551 

thoroughly tested. There is no retracing of ground, no payment 
for failures. And last but not least no money is handled by 
school teachers or men who have been school teachers, for that 
is considered to be the work of men trained for business. It 
furnishes food for thought when we realize that it costs about 
one hundred sixty millions of dollars a year to educate all the 
children in Germany who attend the lower schools. These 
children number over eleven millions. New York City alone 
pays over thirty million each year for her children. 

Germany excels us also in the matter of school statistics. 
Any one who can read German can find out in ten minutes more 
about salaries actually paid to teachers than an American stu- 
dent can discover about the same subject here in America in 
ten years or in fifty. One can tell in one minute just how many 
teachers there are in Prussia between the ages of thirty and forty 
and the distribution of their salaries in groups varying twenty- 
five dollars from each other. One can find out age, salary, and 
length of service, and any other item which our teachers' colleges 
investigate in the time it takes to read the figures. These items 
can never be known in this country under our present system. 
It is undemocratic to know such things. We can safely say we 
know but little about the educational statistics of this country 
as a whole, and it is our most pressing administrative need. Who 
can tell how many children were retarded in grade in the United 
States last year? Nobody can, and still the retarded child costs 
an enormous amount each year. It is undemocratic to be 
efficient. 

Another vital matter of administration is compulsory school 
attendance. The German compulsory education law, reenforced 
by imperial child-labor laws, is compulsory in every sense of 
the word. The children go to school all the time there is school 
in session, and sickness is the only excuse. All children attend. 
The police attend to that, but it is only seldom that the police 



552 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

are called upon, for the people of Germany respect the law. It 
is undemocratic to respect and obey laws. The larger percentage 
of our compulsory education laws are farces. Even if they were 
enforced, it would improve the educational situation but little. 
What does the enforcement of a law mean which compels a 
child between the ages of eight and twelve to attend school 
unless it can already read or write ? Under our system of regis- 
tration of our inhabitants, we do not know how many children 
there are in a community, especially in cities, how old these 
children are, or how long they have attended school. It is un- 
democratic to have such records. It is perfectly possible to live 
in a large American city and have several children who never 
attend school at all. If they do attend, they may go as often 
as they want and the only thing necessary to excuse them is a 
note written by the children themselves or the parents. All the 
compulsory education laws in the world will do no good until we 
know how many children there are, their ages, and where they 
live. We can never educate our people until we get them all 
in school. 

There is another lesson for us in Germany's care, on a national 
scale, for her exceptional children, particularly the weaker ones. 
Compulsory education extends to the weaker-minded, the bUnd, 
the deaf, the crippled, as well as to any others. The purpose 
is to save even the broken branches for the state. They too 
are a part of the national resources and the educational authori- 
ties strive, not only for humanitarian reasons but also for eco- 
nomical reasons, to make the weak stronger and as little a burden 
as possible upon the state. We in America are making efforts 
in this direction, but they are spasmodic. There is no centralized 
movement. The movement if undertaken by the state, par- 
ticularly in reference to retarded children, would reach all and 
would mean a great saving to the state in the end, and lift a 
heavy burden from the regular schools. The Mannheim system 



CONCLUSION 553 

and the regular auxiliary schools of all cities in Germany are 
worthy of study to this end. 

The methods, the How, of the German schools, are perhaps 
the source of the greatest value to us. How they teach is much 
more important than what they teach, although the latter sub- 
ject is of great importance. We refer at first to no particular 
device or set of devices or modes of procedure in any subject. 
To be brief, we mean that inasmuch as Germany by her methods 
as employed in the Volksschulen can make seventy milHon think 
and act as one man is the most significant educational fact, and 
at the same time a theory which Germany can teach us to-day. 
This is the main thesis of our argument. We believe the steno- 
graphic lessons and the discussion of the methods of teaching 
prove that it is the teaching methods employed in the Volks- 
schulen which have wrought this miracle within a hundred years. 
The important lesson of the German schools is that a nation 
can be unified in thought and action by means of education, 
more particularly by instruction. 

About one hundred years ago and again forty-five years ago, 
the leaders of the German nation determined to place Germany 
in the place of leadership among the nations of the world. To 
accomplish this end a highly developed citizenship, both leaders 
and followers, was necessary. The universities and the higher 
schools have trained the leaders ; the Volksschulen have trained 
the followers. The great masses have been molded and cast 
in one die, — they think alike, — they act alike. What they 
think and what they do is determined by the leaders of the nation. 
This is achieved by the Volksschulen. 

At this point the selection of subject matter in the various 
subjects in the elementary school plays an important r61e. In 
two subjects, history and religion, is found the key to the whole 
situation. The courses of study in these subjects are so selected 
that a certain attitude of mind and a certain mind content are 



554 PRUSSIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

afforded the lower classes, which when finally fixed in the con- 
sciousness of the people means devotion to the Emperor, and self- 
abnegation and subordination to the State. Those portions of the 
Bible are chosen which have most to do with obedience to the 
Heavenly Father and his representatives on earth, which are in 
this case, the princes of Hohenzollern. The course in history, and 
indeed in every other subject, is chosen very largely from a 
patriotic, national, German point of view. So much for the 
What of the schools. 

By an inordinate amount of memorization of the selected facts, 
by constant drill on the achievements and power of the German 
nation, by "line upon line, and precept upon precept" for eight 
years, and then by service in the army, the youthful mind is 
Germanized, is set like adamant and is capable of no change. 
The work of the Volksschule is accomplished, for the masses 
think alike and respond as a man to the slightest suggestion 
from authority. 

It is with no empty bribe that the common people of Germany 
are thus led into spiritual captivity. Each citizen is educated 
for an occupation, his home is secure from attack, his children 
are in good schools, he is protected from disease and famine, 
he is insured against accident and unemployment ; old age has 
no terrors. Why should a man not sacrifice himself for the 
State for such privileges? To a man who has never lived in 
a state of free opportunity of self-betterment, to a man who 
cannot miss what he has never known, life cannot hold much 
more than that which the paternalistic government in Germany 
affords. 

Methods of instruction in the various subjects, particularly 
in history, rehgion, science, and arithmetic, hold many valuable 
lessons for teachers in the American elementary schools. The 
important question is, however, can we increase our national 
efficiency by content of curricula and methods of instruction 



CONCLUSION 555 

in the lower schools? Of course, it cannot be done in the same 
way as it is done in Germany, because this is a repubhc and 
our conception of the individual and his rights is not the same 
as in Germany. 

To achieve the fullness of our national possibilities we, as 
Germany has already done, must set definitely the goal of 
national aims. We must know the end of our efforts. Then we 
must mold our means and methods to obtain that which we 
have fully resolved upon. Germany has shown us what can 
be done in a comparatively short time with a definite aim and 
definite methods. The methods which Germany has used 
would not be appHcable here, for they lead in exactly the op- 
posite direction from that in which we are endeavoring to go. 

And the necessity of action is upon us, necessity from without, 
and necessity from within. The education of patriotic, self- 
sacrificing, capable citizens is the only thing which can solve 
the problems which are near at hand. Indefiniteness and lack 
of purpose mean loss of leadership in every field of endeavor. 
The golden dream of being the favored of God will end in a hor- 
rible nightmare unless the youth of America is taught how to 
know the meaning of true liberty, of the exercise of the rights 
of citizenship, of the value of industry, of courage, and of char- 
acter. 



APPENDIX 

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR HISTORY OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN 

1. Allgemeine Bestimmungen vom 15 Okt., 1872. 

2. Bartholomaus, Das Allgemeine Landrecht und die Preussische Volks- 

schule, Bielefeld, 1895. 

3. Bartholome, Die Forderung des V olksschulwesens im Staate der Eohenzol- 

lern, Diisseldorf, 1907. 

4. Beckedorrf's Jahrbiicker des preussischen V olksschulwesens. 

5. Von Bremen, Die Preussische Volksschule, Berlin, 1905. Nctchtrage, 

1909. 

6. Von Biilow, Beitrdge zur Geschichte des Pommerschen V olksschulwesens 

im 16. Jahrhundert, Stettin, 1880. 

7. Clausnitzer, Die V olksschulpadagogik Friedrichs des Grossen, Halle, 1902. 

8. Clausnitzer, Geschichte des preussischen Unterrichtsgesetzes, Hamburg, 

1908. 

9. Eckstein, Die Gestaltung der Volksschule durch den Franck^schen Pietismus. 

10. Eylert, CharakterzUge aus dem Leben des Konigs von Preussen, Friedrich 

Wilhelm III. 

11. Fischer, Friedrich der Grosse und die Volkserziehung, Berlin, 1887. 

12. Fischer, Geschichte des deutschen Vulksschullehrerstandes, Hannover. 

13. Franckes, Pddagogische Schriften, Langensalza, 1876. 

14. Gesellschaft fur die deutsche Erziehungs- und Schulgeschichte. Monu- 

menta Germaniae Paedagogica. 

15. Giebe, Verordnungen hetrefend das gesamte Schulwesen in Preussen^ 

Diisseldorf, Schwann. 

16. Heppe, Geschichte des deutschen V olksschulwesens, 5 vol., Gotha, Perthes. 

17. Heubaum, Geschichte des deutschen Bildungswesen seit der Mitte des 

17 J ahrhunderts , Berlin, 1905. 

18. Kaemmel, Geschichte des deutschen Schulwesens im Ubergang vom Mittel- 

alter zur Neuzeit, Leipzig, 1882. 

19. Keller, Geschichte des preussischen V olksschulwesens, Berlin, 1873. 

20. Knabe, Geschichte des deutschen Schulwesens, Leipzig, 1905. 

21. Kwiatowski, Geschichte der Entwicklung des V olksschulwesens in Ost- und 

West Preussen, Konigsberg, 1880. 

557 



558 APPENDIX 

2 2. Lamprecht, Deutsche Geschichte, Berlin, Gartner. 

23. Lewin, Geschichte der Entwicklung der preussischen Volksschule, Berlin. 

24. Lexis, Das Unterrichtswesen im Deutschen Reich, Berlin. 

25. Meyer, Friedrichs des Grossen Padagogische Schriften imd AUsserungen, 

Langensalza. 

26. Nebe, Comenius als Mensch, Pddagog, und Christ, Bielefeld, 1891. 

27. Nebe, Melanchthon, der Lehrer Deutschlands, Bielefeld, 1897. 

28. Paulsen, Geschichte des gelehrfen Unterrichts auf den deutschen Schulen 

und Universitdten, Leipzig, 1896. 

29. Preussische Gesetzsammlung, Berlin. 

30. Von Raumer, Geschichte der Pddagogik vom Wiederaufbliihen klassischer 

Studien bis auf unsere Zeit, 5th edition, Giitersloh, 1879. 

31. Reichsgesetzblatt, Berlin. 

32. Rein, Encyklopddisches Handbuch der Pddagogik, Langensalza. 

33. Von Ronne, Das Unterrichtswesen des Preussischen Staates, Berlin, 1855. 

34. Schmid, Encyklopddie des gesamten Erziehungs- und Unterrichtswesens, 

10 vol., Gotha. 

35. Schmidt, Geschichte der Pddagogik, Kothen, 1875. 

36. Schneider and Von Bremen, Das Volksschidwesen im Preussischen 

Staate, Berlin, 1885-1887. 

37. Schumann, Die Geschichte des Volksschulwesens in der Altmark. 

38. Specht, Geschichte des Unterrichtswesens in Deutschland, Stuttgart, 1885. 

39. Statistische Nachrichten von Petersilie: Schulstatistik vom Jahre 1878, 

1882, 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1911. 

40. Strack, Geschichte des deutschen Volksschulwesens. 

41. ThUo, Preussisches Volksschulwesen nach Geschichte und Statistik. 

42. Vormbaum, Evangelische Schulordnungen, 3 vol., Giitersloh, 1858- 

1864, Bertelsmann. 

43. Zentralblatt fur die gesamte Unterrichtsverwaltung im Preussen, 1859- 

1914, Berlin. 



ADMINISTRATION OF THE PRUSSIAN SCHOOLS 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Von Bremen, Die preussische Volksschule, Berlin, 1905. Nachtrdge, 

1-4, 1905-1909. 

2. Dortmunder Bilrgerbuch, Dortmund, 1913. 

3. Giildner, Die h'ohere Lehranstalten fur die weibliche Jugend in Preussen, 

1913, Halle. 



APPENDIX 559 

4. Heinze, Im Amt, Goslar, 1913. 

5. Kretzschmar, Handhuch des preussischen Schulrechts, Leipzig, 1899. 

6. Pliischke, Die stadtische Schuldeputaiionen und ihr Geschdftskreis, 

Berlin, 1908. 

7. Preussische Gesetzsammlung, Berlin. 

8. Sachse, Schulordnimgen im Regierungsbezirk Hildesheim, Hildesheim, 

1910. 

9. Schulstatistische Blatter, Berlin, Monthly. 

10. Zentralbldtter, 1859-1915. 

11. Ziegler, Handhuch fiir Lehrer und Lehrerinnen, Leipzig, 1903. 

STATISTICS AND MAINTENANCE OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Schulstatistisches Blatter, Berlin, Monthly. 

2. Statistisches Jahrhuch des deutschen Reiches, Annual. 

3. Statistisches Jahrhuch fur den preussischen Staat, Annual. 

4. Vierteljahrhefte zur Statistik des deutschen Reiches, Quarterly. 

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Von Bremen, Die preussische Volksschule, 1905-1909, Berlin. 

2. Handhuch fiir Lehrer U7td Lehrerinnen, Leipzig, 1899. 

3. Heinze, Im Amt, Goslar, 1913. 

4. Reichsgesetzhlatt, Berlin. 

5. School regulations for various cities. 

6. Zentralhldtter, 1859-1915. 

SCHOOL HYGIENE BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Baginsky and Janke, Handhuch der Schulhygiene, Stuttgart. 

2. Berichte des deutschen Lehrervereins, Berlin. 

3. Von Bremen, Die preussische Volksschule, 1905. 

4. Biirgerstein and Nelotzky, Handhuch der Schulhygiene, Jena. 

5. Heinze, Im Amt, Goslar, 1903. 

6. Zentralhldtter, 1859-1915. 

EXTRACURRICULAR AND BENEVOLENT ACTIVITIES 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Biirgerstein and Nelotzky, Handhuch der Schulhygiene, Jena. 

2. Handhuch fUr Jugendpflege, Langensalza. 

3. Lexis, Das Unterrichtswesen im deutschen Reich, 1904, vol. 3. 



56o APPENDIX 

4. Nolle, Das Gesetz hetrefend die Fiirsorge-erziehung Minderjdhrigerj 

Berlin. 

5. Regulations of various cities and county governments relative to 

benevolent activities. 

6. Schulstatistische Blatter, Berlin, 1902-1914. 

7. Zentralblatter, 1872-1915. 

8. Zur Liieratur iiber Jugendfiirsorge und Jugendrettung, Langensalza, 

Beyer. 

SCHOOL SAVINGS BANKS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Bohme, Die selbststandige Idndliche Schulsparkasse, Braunschweig, 

Appelhaus. 

2. Conrad, Handworterhuch der Staatswissenschaften, Jena, 1901, vol. vi. 

3. Lexis, Das Unterrichtswesen im Deutschen Reich ^ 1904. 

4. Regulations of various county governments relative to school savings 

banks. 

5. Rein, Encyclopddie. 

6. Reports of Deutscher Verein fur Jugend Sparkassen, Hannover. 

7. Senckel, Die Schul- und Jugendsparkassen, Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, 

Harnecker. 

8. Zentralblatter, 

PREPARATION OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Von Bremen, Die preussische Volksschule, 1905, Berlin. 

2. Fischer, Geschichte des deutschen Volksschullehrerstandes , Berlin, 1898. 

3. Handbuch fiir Lehrer und Lehrerinnen, Leipzig, 1899. 

4. Heinze, Im Amt, 1913, Goslar. 

5. Kandel, The Training of Elementary School Teachers in Germany, 

New York, 1910. 

6. Meyer, Die zweite Priifung. 

7. Padagogische Zeitung, Berlin, Monthly. 

8. Schulstatistische Blatter, Berlin. 

9. Statistisches Jahrbuch fur den preussischen Staat, 1913-1914. 

10. Zentralblatt filr die gesamte Unterrichtsverwaltung in Preussen^ Berlin. 

TEACHERS' SALARIES AND PENSIONS 

1. Von Bremen, Die preussische Volksschule, 1905, Berlin. 

2. Heinze, Im Amt, 19 13, Goslar. 



APPENDIX 561 

3. Lexis, Das Unterrichtswesen im deutschen Reich, 1904. 

4. Siatistisches Jahrbuch fur den preussischen Staat, 1913-1914. 

5. Zentralbldtter, 1872-1915. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE VOLKSSCHULEN AND COURSES OF 

STUDY. BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Courses of study in various cities and counties. 

2. Das Schulwesen im Herzogtum Braunschweig, 1912-1913, Schulstati- 

stische Blatter, 19 13, July, p. 73. 

3. Grundlehrplan filr die Berliner Gemeindeschulen, Breslau, Hirt, 1902, 

and Velhagen-Klasing, Berlin, 1913. 

4. Lexis, Das Unterrichtswesen im deutschen Reich. 

5. Pliischke, Die Schuldeputationen und ihr Geschaftskreis, 1908, Berlin. 

6. Popp, Lehr plane fur Landschulen, Stettin, Burmeister, 191 2. 

7. Regulations governing schools in various counties, particularly Stettin 

and Hildesheim. 

8. Schulstatistische Blatter, 1902, 1914, Berlin. 

9. Schwartz, Organisation und Unterrichtserfolge der stddtischen Volks- 

schulen in Deutschland, Berlin, 1907. 

10. Statistische Jahrhiicher fiir den preussischen Staat, 1900-1914. 

11. Zentralbldtter, 1859-19x5, Berlin. 

METHODS BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Kehr, Praxis der Volksschule. 

2. Lay, Experimentelle Didaktik, Leipzig, 1910. 

3. Noth, Die Konzentrationsidee, Berlin, 1902. 

4. Otto, Beitrdge zur Psychologic des Unterrichts, Leipzig, 1903. 

5. Rein, Pddagogik in systematischer Darstellung, Langensalza. En- 

cyklopddisches Handbuch der Pddagogik, Langensalza. 

6. Rein, Pickel, Scheller, Theorie und Praxis des V olksschulunterrichts 

nach Herbartschen Grundsdtzen. 

7. Von Sallwiirk, Die didaktischen Normalformen, Frankfurt-am-M., 1909. 

8. Schmidt, Grundlagen zur Ausgestaltung des Arbeitsunterrichts, Leipzig, 

1911. 

9. Schwochow and Hoffmann, Methodik des V olksschulunterrichts, Leipzig, 

Teubner, 19 13. 

10. Schwochow, Die Schulpraxis, Leipzig. 

11. Wiget, Die formalen Stufen, Chur, 1911. 

2 o 



562 APPENDIX 

12. ZentralUdtter, 1859-1915, Berlin. 

13. Ziller, Allgemeine Padagogik, Leipzig, 1891. 

RELIGION BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Dassow, H., 28 biblische Geschichten fiir die Unlerstufe, Goslar, Danehl. 

2. Deharbe, Ausgefuhrte Katechesen uber die Sittenlehre, Kempten, KoseL 

Erklarung des grosseren katholischen Katechismus, Paderborn. 
Ausgefuhrte Katechesen iiher die katholische Gnadenlehre, Kempten, 
KoseL 

3. Deharbe, S. J., Katholischer Katechismus fiir die Elementarschulenj 

F. Pustet, Regensburg. 

4. Glattfelter, Lehrhuch der katholischen Religion im Anschluss an den 

Katechismus der Diozesen Koln, Breslau, Ermeland, Fulda, Limburg, 
Miinster, Paderborn und Trier, Diisseldorf, 1906. 

5. Gopfert, Worterbuch zum kleinen Katechismus Luther s. 

6. Harnisch, O., Biblische Geschichte, Breslau, Diilfer. 

7. Heimerdinger, Prdparationen fiir den Katechismusunterricht. 

8. Hempel, Zum Katechismusunterricht. 

9. Hunder und Zeissig, Biblische Geschichten fiir das erste und zweite 

Schuljahr. 

10. Jonas, F. A., Darstellender, zerlegender, lehrender Unterricht, Leipzig, 

Durr, 191 1. 

11. Just, Der abschliessende Katechismus. 

12. Klose, Erklarung des romischen katholischen Katechismus in ausgefiihrten 

Lektionen. 

13. Lehmensick, Kernlieder der Kirche in Stimmungsbildern. 

14. Nowack, H., Religionsbiichlein fur die Kinder der Unterstufe. 

15. Paul, M., Fiir Herz und Gemiit der Kleinen. 56 biblische Geschichte in 

erzahlend-darstellender Form, 191 1. 

16. Schmarje, Das katechetische Lehrerverfahren auf psychologische Grundlage, 

Flensburg, 1892. 

17. Schmitt, J., Erklarung des kleinen Deharbeschen Katechismus, 1898. 

Freiburg i. B., Herder. 

18. Spigaro, Katholischer V olkskatechismus , Tratenau, 1906. 

19. Staude, Paul, Prdparationen fiir den ersten Religionsunterricht in dar- 

stellender Form. 

20. Staude, Richard, Prdparationen zu den biblischen Geschichten. 

21. Thrandorf, Allgemeine Methodik des Religions unterrichts. 

22. Thrandorf- Meltzer, Der Religionsunterricht. 



APPENDIX 563 

23. Togel, Der konkrete H inter grund zu den 150 Kernspriichen des religiosen 

Lernstojffes. 

24. Weber, Ausgefiihrte Kafechesen iiber das dritte Hauptstiick, Kempten, 

Kosel. Ausgefiihrte Katechesen iiber die katholische Glaubenslehre und 
Gebote, Kosel. 

25. Winkler, Biblische Geschichten fUr die Unterstufe in entwickelnddarsiel- 

lender Form. 

26. Wittenbrink, F., Deharbes kiirzeres Eandbuch zum Religionsunterricht 

in den Elementarschulen, Paderborn, 1898. 

27. Witzmaim, PrdparationsentwHrje zu den Gleichnissen Jesu. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR HISTORY 

1. Biedermann, K., Der Geschichtsunterricht auf Schulen nach kultur- 

geschichtlicher Methode, Wiesbaden, 1900, Bergmann. 

2. Fritzsche, R., Die deutsche Geschichte in der Volksschule, Altenburg, 

Pierer. 

3. Hirts neues Realienbuch, Breslau, Hirt. 

4. Kahnmeyer, L., and Schulze, H., Anschaulich-ausfiihrliches Realienbuch^ 

enthaltend Geschichte, Erdkunde, Natur geschichte, Naturlehre, und 
Chemie, Bielefeld, Velhagen und Klasing. 

5. Krieger, Der Geschichtsunterricht in Volks-, Biirger-, und Forthildungs- 

schulen, Niirnberg, Korn. 

6. Lamprecht, Die kulturhistorische Methode. 

7. Rosenburg, Methodik des Geschichtsunterrichts, 1905, Breslau, Hirt. 

8. Rude, A., Quellenbuch fiir den Geschichtsunterricht an Volks- und Mittel- 

schulen, Sachsa, 1892, Haacke. 

9. Rusch, G., Methodik des Geschichtsunterrichts, Wien, Pichler. 

10. Staude, R., and Gopfert, A., Prdparationen zur deutschen Geschichte nach 
Herbartschen Grundsdtzen ausgearbeitet, Dresden, Bleyl und Kammerer. 
For a rather complete bibliography on history in the elementary 
school see Heinze's Im Amt, pp. 423-426, Goslar, 1913, Danehl. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY BIOLOGY 

1. Courses of study for various cities in Prussia. 

2. Fuss, Der erste Unterricht in der Natur geschichte, Niirnberg, Korn, 1906. 

3. Junge, Natur geschichte in der Volksschule, Kiel. 

4. See Bibliography for Physics and Chemistry. 

5. Zentralbldtter, 



564 APPENDIX 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. GERMAN 

1. Bruggemann, Der erste Leseunterricht, Leipzig, Wunderlich, 1908. 

2. Hildebrand, Vom deutschen Sprachunterricht in der Schule, Leipzig, 

Klinkhardt, 1910. 

3. Lehrpldne der Berliner Gemeindeschulen, 1902-1913. 

4. Sachse, Zum Aufsatzschreiben in der Volksschule, Leipzig, Hahn, 1910. 

5. Zentralbldtter, 1872-1914. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY IN GEOGRAPHY 

1. Fischer, Methodik des Unterrichts in der Erdkunde, Hirt, Breslau, 1905. 

2. Kerp, Fiihrer beim Unterricht in der Heimatkunde, Hirt, Breslau, 1910. 

3. Ratzel, Die Erde und das Leben, Leipzig, 1902. 

4. Schiel, Heimatkunde, Borgmeyer, Hildesheim, 1909. 

5. Wohlrabe, Deutsches Land und Volk, Gebauer, Halle, 1908. 

GEOGRAPHY 

1. Berliner Lehr plan fur die Gemeindeschulen, 1913. 

2. Finger, Anweisung zum Unterricht in der Heimatkunde, Berlin, 1908. 

3. Fritzsche, Die neuen Bahnen des erkundlichen Unterrichts, Langensalza, 

1906. 

4. Kerp, Methodisches Lehrbuch, Trier, 1907, Lintz. 

5. Nowack, Der Unterricht in der Geographic, Leipzig, 1909, Hirt. 

6. Zentralblatt, Berlin. 

PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 

1. Buseman, Methodik der naturkundlichen Facher in der Volksschule j 

Leipzig, 1908. 

2. Lehr plan der Berliner Gemeindeschulen, 191 3. 

3. Lehr plan filr die Burger schulen der Stadt Hannover, Hannover, 1913. 

4. Nebel, Prdparationen fur den Unterricht in der Chemie, Leipzig, Wunder- 

lich, 191 1. 

5. Wurthe, Prdparationen fUr Naturlehre, Osterwieck, 191 2, Zickfeldt. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR SEWING 

1. Courses of study for different German cities. 

2. Grupe, Die neue Nadelarbeit, Berlin, Durer, Haus, 191 1. 

3. Krause and Metzel, Der Schulunterricht in den Nadelarbeiten, Cother, 

Schettler, 1905. 



APPENDIX 565 

4. Stobbe, Lekrproben fiir den Handarbeitsunterricht, Breslau, Hirt. 

5. Zeniralbldtter, 1872-1914. 

COOKING 

1. Courses of study in various cities. 

2. Zeniralbldtter. 

SINGING 

1. Grell, Gesanglehre fiir Schule und Haus, Basel, Reich. 

2. Lehrpldne der Berliner Gemeindeschulen, 1902-1913. 

3. Monatschrift fur Schulgesang, Berlin, Wiedermann. 

4. Zentralblatt, 1872-1915. 

DRAWING 

1. Kerschensteiner, Die Entwicklung der zeichnerischen Begabung, Munich, 

Gerber. 

2. Lehrplan der Berliner Gemeindeschulen, Berlin, 1913. 

3. Wegweiser nach neuen Bahnen des Zeichenunterrichts, Leipzig, Teubner. 

4. Zeitschrift des Vereins deutscher Zeichenlehrer. 

5. Zeniralbldtter, Berlin. 

MANUAL TRAINING BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1. Berliner Lehr gang fiir leichte Holzarbeilen, Leipzig, Heinrichs, 191 1. 

2. Courses of study in Berlin, Dortmund, Hannover, Munich, and other cities. 

3. Die Arbeitschule, Leipzig, Hahn, 1910. 

4. Dortmunder Arbeitschule, Leipzig, Teubner, 191 1. 

5. Hertel and Kalb, Der Unlerrichl fiir erziehliche Knabenhandarbeit, 

Leipzig, Teubner. 

6. Kerschensteiner, Der Be griff der Arbeitschule, Leipzig, Teubner, 191 1. 

7. Von Schenckendorff, Der praklische Unlerrichl, Breslau, Hirt, 1880. 

8. Seinig, Die redende Hand, Leipzig, Wunderlich, 191 1. 

9. Zeniralbldtter. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING 

1. Anleitung fiir das Knabenlurnen in Volksschulen ohne Turnhallen, Beilm, 

Cotta, 1908. 

2. Grittner, Praxis des Turnunterrichts, Leipzig, Velhagen and Klasing. 

3. Leilfaden fiir den Turnunlerricht in den preussischen Volksschulen, 

Berlin, Hertz, 1895. 

4. Strohmeyer, Turnen und Spiel in der preussischen Volksschule, Leipzig, 

Teubner, 191 1. 



INDEX 



Abnormal children, courses for, 145 &.; 

schools for, 145. 
Administration of Volksschule, Chap. II. 
Administrative Covmty, 54, 60; powers of, 

61 ff. 
Aim of education according to Herbart, 258 ; 

Pestalozzian, 258; Prussian, 258-259, 316, 

539- 

Alcoholism, 127. 

AUgemeines Landrecht, 23 ff. ; imp>ortance of, 
26. 

Appointment of teachers, see Teachers ; per- 
manency of, 172. 

Arithmetic : aim, 349 ; correlation of, 361 ff . ; 
course in, 349 ff. ; in lower grades, 350 ff. ; 
lessons in, 366 ff. ; methods in, 350 ff. ; 
omissions in, 361 ; oral, 359 ff. ; subject 
matter, 361 ; written work in, 360. 

Army service, for boys of Volksschule, 141 ff. ; 
for teachers, 173. 

Attendance : compulsory, 104 ff. ; dismissed 
from, 108 ff. ; enforcement of, 106-110; 
exemption from, 107; law of 1717, 9; law 
of 1794, 25 ; law of 1825, 105 ff. 

Banks, savings, 154 ff. 

Basedow, 393. 

Bases of school organization, 222. 

Baths, school, 150. 

Benevolent activities, 147 ff. 

Biology, Chap. XXI ; aim in, 458 ; correla- 
tion of, 458; course of study in, 452 ff. ; 
course for boys and for girls, 455 ; lessons 
in, 458 ff. ; methods of instruction, 457; 
teaching material in, 456; text-book in, 

455- 
Birth-rate, 91 ff. 
Board, administrative county, 60 ff. ; city, 

see School Deputation, 69 ff. ; provincial 

school, 58 ff. ; rural, 73 ff. 
Buildings, school, 129 ff.; site of, 129 ff. ; 

rural, 130. 



Calendar, school, 113 ff. 

Certificate, teacher's, 169. 

Chemistry, see Physics and Chemistry. 

Church, see also Religion; combination of 
church and school positions, 176; relation 
of church and state, 287 ff. ; of church and 
school, 287-289. 

City school inspector, 56, 71 ff. 

City schools, organization of, 222 ff. ; types 
of, 22 ff. 

Civics, 419 ff. ; aim, 421; course in, 419 ff. 

Classes, average number of pupils in, 97 ff. ; 
per school, 232; social, 87. 

CUnics, dental, 149; tubercular, 128. 

Co-education, 230. 

Colonies, vacation, 147 ff. 

Composition, 333 ff. ; aims of, 333 ; correc- 
tions, 335 ; lesson in, 341 ff. 

Compulsory attendance, see Attendance. 

Concentration, theory of, 264 ff. 

Confessional schools, 229. 

Constitution of Prussia in 1850, 40 ff. 

Continuation schools, 139 ff. 

Cooking, Chap. XXIV; course of study in, 
496; equipment for, 499; housekeeping, 
50 ff . ; length of course in, 499 ; lesson in 
practical work, 501 ; prevalence of, 496 ; 
size of classes in, 499; theoretical work, 
500. 

Correlation, theory of, 264. 

Cost of instruction, per pupil, 94 ; total, 94. 

Courses of study, 247 ff . ; characteristics of, 
268; according to regulations of 1872, 
247 ff., 261 ; comparison with American, 
249 ; detail, 268 ff. ; development of, 262 ; 
in cities, 250 ff. ; outline, 268 ff. ; rural, 
235 ff. ; special subjects, see each subject; 
undifferentiated, 265 ff. 

Defectives, schools for, 145 ff. 

Dental clinics, 149 ff. 

Deputation, school : duties of, 69 ff. 



567 



568 



INDEX 



Dictation in German instruction, 333. 

Discipline, 118. 

District school inspector, 56, 62 ff. ; duties 

of, 63 ff. ; salary of, 67 ; types of, 66. 
Drawing, Chap. XXVI; aim in, 514, 521; 

course in, 514 fif., 521 ff. ; free hand, 521 ; 

mechanical, 523; methods in, 514 ff., 

521 ff.; teachers, 520. 

Enunciation in German, 312. 

Equipment, teaching, 283. 

Examination : entrance to normal school, 

166; first teachers', 167; second teachers', 

169 ff. ; teachers' examination in 1729, 2; 

in 1826, 37 ff. 
Excursions, 152, 441. 
Expenditures : for all schools, 94 ff . ; for 

Volksschule, 93 ff. 
Eyesight of school children, 132. 

Feeding of school children, 148. 

Foreign words in German, 313. 

Francke, 5-6. 

Frederick the Great, interest in schools, 13, 

17-22. 
Frederick William I, founding of elementary 

schools, 8. 
Frederick William II, 22 ff. 
Frederick William III, regulations issued by, 

28, 30-33- 
Frederick WilUam IV, 39. 

Gardens, school, 153. 

General-Land-Schul-Reglement, 14 ff. 

Geography, Chap. XX; aim, 429; cartog- 
raphy, 442; concentric circle plan in, 
438; correlation of, 433 ; course, 437 ff.; 
economic, 435 ; illustrative material in, 
444 ; importance of, 429 ; maps, 442-443 ; 
methods in, 444; museums for, 444; or- 
ganization of subject matter in, 436; 
physical, 436; political, 435; principles 
underlying, 430 ff . ; stereopticons in, 444 ; 
text-books, 442 ; types of, 432. 

Geometry : course in, 363 ff . ; estimating in, 
365; hours for, 362; lessons in, 381 ff., 
388 ff. ; methods in, 364. 

German: aim, 305; correlation of, 311; 
course in, 304 ff . ; dictation, 333 ; foreign 
words in, 312 ff. ; freedom of expression in, 
310 ; lessons in, 336 ; methods in, 309 ff. ; 
oral, 311 ff. ; regulations concerning, 
304 ff . ; scope of, 304. 



Grammar, 331; lesson in, 345; subject 

matter of, 331 ff. 
Gymnasium, 60; relation to Volksschule, 

85 ff. 

Gymnasiimis, 532 ff . ; outdoor, 534. 

Half -day schools, 228. 

Health, of school children, see Hygiene; 
teachers', 181 ff. 

Heating, 133-135 ; see also Ventilation. 

Hecker, in Berlin, 13 ; Realschule, 13 ; rela- 
tion to Francke, 13. 

Heimatkunde, 407, 440; course in, 407; 
method in, 441. 

Herbart, influence on Prussian schools, 258. 

Herbartians, 409 ff. 

Higher schools : pupils of, 85 ; relation to 
Volksschule, 85 ff . ; transfer from lower to, 

86 ff.; types of, 84-85. 

History, Chap. XIX ; accuracy in, 414 ; aim, 
400; anti-socialistic tendency of, 397; 
bases of organization in, 407 ff . ; biograph- 
ical organization of, 411; chronological 
order in, 408 ; combining method in, 409 ; 
concentric circle plan, 407 ff. ; course in, 
400 ff. ; culture epoch organization of, 410 ; 
formal steps of instruction in, 41 1 ; group- 
ing plan, 408 ; Heimatkunde, 407 ; histori- 
cal development of, 392 ff. ; instruction in, 
411 ff. ; illustrative material in, 418; 
lecture method in, 413; musemns, 419; 
newer movements in, 395 ff . ; relation to 
civics, 419; relative worth of, 406: text- 
book in, 416; synchronous order in, 408. 

Holidays, 11 4-1 15. 

Home-work, 137. 

Housekeeping, 501. 

Hygiene, school, 126 ff. ; of instruction, 136 ff. 

Illiteracy, amoimt of, in X871 and 1906, 42- 

43. 

Income tax, 212. 

Increments, salary, see also Salary; local, 
201 ff . ; rental, 200, 205 ; service, 199 ff . ; 
special, 202. 

Inspection of schools, 61-78 ; clerical, 9, 26, 
68 ; state, 24 ; see also administration ; see 
also inspector. 

Inspector: city, 71 ff. ; county, 62 ff. ; dis- 
trict, 63 ff. ; local, 67 ff. ; provincial, 59. 

Instruction : method of. Chap. XIV ; super- 
vision of, see Inspection ; teaching material 
for, 283; undifferentiated, 317. 



INDEX 



569 



Jugendpflege : aim of, 142 ff. ; teachers, 143- 

144. 
Jungdeutschland, 144 flf. 

Kreis, see School inspection district. 
Kuskrschule, see Sacristan school. 

Landrat, see Magistrate of district. 

Laws: maintenance law of 1906, loi £F. ; 

previous to 1906, 100; school law of 1850, 

40 ff. 
Libraries, 314. 

Lighting of school rooms, 131. 
Literature: cheap, 314; in Volksschule, 

330 ff.; lesson in, 336 ff.; text-book in, 

326 ff. 
Local school inspector, 56; duties of, 67. 

Magistrate of district, 54, 67. 

Maintenance of Volksschule, 100 ff . ; law of 
1906, lOI. 

Management, school, Chap. VI. 

Manual training. Chap. XXVII; course for 
teachers in, 528; course in, 527; preva- 
lence of, 524; its relation to industry, 
525 ff.; teachers of, 527. 

Marriage among teachers, 174, 180. 

Methods of instruction. Chap XIII; general, 
Chap. XIV; historical development of, 
257 ff. ; influence of Herbart and Pestalozzi 
on, 257 ff. ; memory work, 274; oral, 
271 ff. ; questions in, 276 ff. ; review, 272 ; 
special, see each subject, supervision of, 
270, 61-78. 

Middle schools, 140 ff . ; course, 82 ff . ; pupils 
of, 82; purpose of, 83 ff.; relation to 
Volksschule, 82 ff.; relation to higher 
schools, 83 ff. ; transfer to and from, 87. 

Military service, 141 ff., 173 ff., 184. 

Ministerial bureaus, 58. 

Ministry of Educational and Medical Affairs, 
55 ff-; duties of, 57 ff. 

Normal preparatory school, 161 ff.; course 
in, 162 ff. ; organization of, 162 ; purpose 
of, 161 ff. 

Normal schools : entrance to, 166; establish- 
ment of, in Prussia, 1774, 17, 22; in nine- 
teenth century, 37 ; Francke's, 7 ; leaving 
examination of, 167; relation to Volks- 
schule, 160; statistics of, 164; training of 
teachers, Chap. IX; women's, 165. 



Oberrealschule, relation to Volksschule, 85 ff . 

Oberschulkollegium, estabhshment, 22. 

Observational instruction, 315; lessons in, 
319 ff-; methods in, 316; principle of, 
319; subject matter of, 316. 

One-class school, 221-234. 

One-teacher school, see One-class school. 

Oral method of instruction, 271 ff. 

Organization of schools. Chap. XII; bases 
of, 222; of city schools, 233 ff., 247 ff.; 
of one-class school, 234; program of one- 
class school, 235 ff.; segregation in, 230; 
types of, 222 ff. ; three-class school, 238 ff. 

Orthography, 332. 

Pensions, Chap. XI; contributory, 214; in 

Bavaria, 215 ; in Prussia, 214 ; law, 213 ff. ; 

maximum, 214; principle of, 219; widow's, 

in Prussia, 216; in Bavaria, 217. 

Pestalozzi, influence of, 33-37, 257 ff, ; Pes- 

talozzians in Prussia, 37. 
Philanthropinism, in Germany, 8, 393. 

Physical training, Chap. XXVIII; aim of, 
529 ff. ; course in, 531 ; examination for 
teachers of, 532 ; gymnasimns, 532 ; hours 
for, 531; swimming, 535; teachers, 
531 ff- 

Physician, school, 126; duties of, 126. 

Physics and chemistry, Chap. XXII; aim, 
477 ; apparatus, 483 ; course of study in, 
475 ff- ; laboratory work in, 482 ; lesson in, 
484 ff. ; method in, 478 ; 482 ff. ; pracrical 
nature of , 480 ; text-book in, 478. 

Pietism, 4 ff., 392; schools influenced by, 
4-8, 257 ff. 

Playgrounds, municipal, 151; school, 121, 
524. 

Principal of Volksschule, 56 ; duties of, 74 ff. ; 
salary, 203. 

Privileges of teachers, 174. 

Program, daily : beginning hours of, 136 ff. ; 
of rural schools, 235 ff. 

Provincial School Board, duties of, 59 ff.; 
organization of, 58 ff. 

Provincial school superintendent, 59. 

Provinzialschulrat, see Provincial school su- 
perintendent. 

Prussia, organization of, 54 ff. 

Punishment, corporal, 120. 

Pupils, average number per class, 97 ff. 

Purpose of Volksschule, see Aim of education. 

Questions in instruction, 276 ff. 



570 



INDEX 



Rationalism, in Germany, 19. 

Reading, 324 fif. ; course in, 327; lesson in, 
329; literature in, 331; methods in, 325, 
329; poetry, 330; oral, 328; primary, 
324 flf. ; silent, 329; text-book in, 326 ff. 

Realgymnasium, 60; relation to Volksschule, 
84 fif. 

Realien, 392 ; introduction of, 20, 452 ; text- 
books for, 416, 442. 

Recesses, 121. 

Rechenschulen, i. 

Recitation, form of, 2725., 277flF. 

Regulations of 1872, as basis of Volksschule, 
43 fif. ; importance of, 52. 

Regulations, school : in Middle Ages, 2 ; of 
eighteenth century, 7 ; of 1713, 9; of 1735, 
10; 1763, 14; 1765, 16; 1772, 20; of 
1854, 41; of 1872, 43 ff. 

Rektor, see Principal. 

Religion, Chap. XV ; Bible in, 292 ; causes 
of indifference to, 297 ; catechism, 293 ; 
church history, 294 ; course in, 290, 292 ff. ; 
effects of, 296; equipment or, 292; geog- 
raphy in, 295 ; hours per week in, 290 ; 
importance of, 286; instruction in, 290; 
lessons in, 298 ; Uturgy, 293 ; memory work 
in, 291 ; moral training, 295 ; nature of, 
289 ff.; socialist and, 289; supervision of, 
288; text-book, 291. 

Rental compensation, 200, 205 ff. ; see also 
Increments, Salary. 

Review, 272. 

Rooms, school, 130 ff. ; floors of, 133 ; heat- 
ing of, 133 ; lighting, 131 ; seating, 131 ff. ; 
size of, 130; ventilation, 133 ff. 

Rural schools: courses of, 235 ff. ; houses, 
130; programs, 240 ff. ; regulations of 
1763 and 1765 for, 15-17 ; reUgious instruc- 
tion in, 287 ; types of, 223 ff. 

Sacristan schools, 1-2. 

Salary of teachers in the Volksschule, see also 
Teachers, salary of ; final salary, 199 ; in- 
crements in, 199 ff. ; law of 1897 and 1910, 
198 ff. ; tables, 189 ff. ; scales, Chap. X; 
special increases, 202 ; women's, 189 ff, 204. 

Schedule: daily, 240 ff. ; weekly, 235 ff., 
2692. 

School board, 56 ; composition of, 73 ; duties 
of, 73 ff. 

School commission, 56, 72 ; duties of, 72. 

School deputation, 56, 69 ff. ; duties of, 70 ff. 

School inspection district, 54, 62-63; in- 
spector of, 63 ff. 



School society, 69. 

Schreibschulen, i. 

Science, elementary, see Biology, Physics, and 
Chemistry. 

Seating, 135 ff. 

Sectarian schools, 287; administration of, 
289 ; text-books for, 289. 

Segregation of sexes in schools, 230. 

Sessions, school, 116 ff.; half-day, 117. 

Sewing, Chap. XXIII ; aim, 488 ; classes in, 
490; course of study, 488 ff. ; discipline 
in, 493 ; equipment, 494 ; material for, 
494; methods of instruction in, 491 ff. ; 
teachers of, 491. 

Singing, Chap. XXV; course in, 508; in- 
fluence of singing, 507; method, 507; 
teachers of, 506 ff. 

Socialism and history instruction, 397 ; atti- 
tude toward religion, 289. 

Social origin of teachers, 185. 

Special schools, 146 ff. 

SpelUng, 332. 

Spener, relation to Pietistic movement, 4-5. 

Statistics of Prussian elementary school, 
Chap. IV; rehgious denominations, 92. 

Subject matter : bases of selection of, 260 ff. ; 
organization of, 262 ff. ; selection of, 259. 

Supervision of Volksschule, diagram of, 56; 
of pupils, 123; of religious instruction, 
288; of Volksschule, Chap. II. 

Swimming, 150, 535. 

Systems of schools : higher, 79 ff . ; middle, 
82 ; parallel, 79 ff. 

Tardiness, 118. 

Teachers: age, 177 ff. ; appointment of, 25, 
171 ff. ; examination for, 2-3, 37 ff. ; first 
examination, 167; second examination, 
169 ff. ; health of, 181 ff. ; length of service 
of, 197 ff. ; marriage of, 174, 180 ff. ; 
military service of, 173, 184; number of, 
per school, 232; origin, 185 ff. ; privileges 
of, 174; qualifications of in eighteenth 
century, 11-12; pensions, 213 ff. ; salary, 
see Salary ; training of, in Pietistic schools, 
7 ; present training of. Chap. IX ; social 
origin of, 185 ; women, number of, 96, 
179, 197 ; see also Women. 

Technical schools, 1 40-141. 

Text-books, for special subjects, see each 
subject ; in sectarian schools, 289 ; use of, 
274, 279 ff. 

Theater tickets, 154. 

Trade schools, 140 ff. 



INDEX 



571 



Training of teachers, Chap. IX. 

Tuberculosis, 128. 

Two-teacher school, 221 ; program of, 238 ff. 

Undifferentiated course of study, 265, 317 flf. 

Vacation, 113 fif. ; colonies, 147 flF. ; heat, 137. 

Vaccination, 127. 

Ventilation, 133 S. 

Volksschule, administration of, Chap. II; 
aim, 80, 258 £[., 260; condition of, in 
eighteenth century, 23; beginning of 
nineteenth century, 28; course of study, 
46 £E, -247 fif.; expenditures for, 93 ff;. 
forms of, 88 ff . ; history of, Chap. I ; in 
Middle Ages, 1-2 ; in eighteenth century, 
11; maintenance of, 100 ff.; nationaUza- 
tion of, 24 ; nmnber of pupils, 95 ff . ; or- 
ganization of, 43 ff.; Chap. XII; pupils 



of, 81 ff. ; relation to other schools, 79 ff. ; 
statistics of. Chap. IV; types of, S8-89, 
220 ff. 
Von Rochow, interest in pubUc education, 
20 ; school at Reckahn, 20 ff . 

Weltkunde, 394. 

William 11, attitude toward socialism, 398. 

Winkelschulen, i. 

Women teachers: age of, 177 ff. ; effect of 
sex on position, 175 ; marriage of, 174- 
175; normal schools for, 165; number, 
96; pensions of, 215 ff.; salary of, 187 ff., 
204; training of, 165. 

Work-school, 266 ff. 

Writing, 308 ; see also German. 

Written work, 281 ff. 

Zedlitz, influence on schools, 19 ff. 



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